Fifty Shades Alone
by Valkyrie4Ever
Summary: What happens when something terrible happens and Christian has to bring up his children without Anastasia by his side? What happens when his daughter is the only witness? And the past comes back to haunt her? This is about how the Grey family copes with worst loss in their lives. Grey Family has same names as my story 'Fifty's Cupake' but it is not related in any way.
1. Chapter 1: One Happy Family

**For those who have read my story 'Scars on Fifty's Cupcake' you will notice that the children have the same names in both. This is because I couldn't think of any other names I liked so I chose to use the same names. Please note, however, that the two stories are not related as you will have either already figured out or will figure out later on. **

* * *

**Chapter 1: A Very Happy Family**

Christian and Anastasia Grey had everything they could possibly want. They had each other, four wonderful children, external family they adored and who adored them. A lovely home, money, staff, security. They even had immaterial things, happiness, love, passion. They were, putting it simply, a happy couple with a happy family. Three sons and a daughter. Four beautiful children who were happy children and they adored each other.

It was Saturday evening and the young looking couple were curled up on the sofa watching their ten, five and three year old sons playing with their eight year old daughter. Teddy and Phoebe were trying to teach their younger brothers how to do forward rolls on the thick duvet their father had placed down on the floor so if they fell while messing around, they had a soft landing. All four children were giggling, causing Ana to giggle, creating music to Christian's ears. His favourite sound in the entire world was the happy noises his family made, it was much better than his perfect playing on the piano.

"Come on, Nicky!" Teddy said, happily. "Put your head on the floor and roll over it. It's easy." He got on the floor and did another forward roll; while Nick seemed to be getting frustrated he could push his weight over.

"Daddy can do roly polies!" Phoebe squealed excitedly, looking over to her parents cuddled together watching them. She stood up and ran over pulling on Christian's hand. "Daddy, will you do a roly poly?" she asked sweetly giving him her best puppy dog eyes. Those sweet grey eyes that can make him do anything she wanted. The boys stood up and joined in the staring sweetly, even Ana turned to look at him, her blue eyes opened. She knew Christian played with the children when on the floor but she'd never seen him do a roly poly.

"Well, daddy?" she asked giggling. He laughed his carefree laugh that she loved so much, kissed her temple and slid of the sofa to join his children on the floor.

"Ok, daddy will do a roly poly," he said. "Then he will help Nicky and James." He finished, before whispering something in Phoebes ear, causing her to giggle some more. Rolling over on their spacious living room the children burst into more fits of giggles. Phoebe ran over to Ana, still curled up on the sofa admiring her family, and pulled on her hand to get her to join in. Christian was holding Nick and swinging him around before sitting back down and holding him while he done a forward roll.

"Mommy, sing for us!" Phoebe squealed when she pulled Ana onto the blanket. Ana's cheeks went red as she looked over to her husband who was smirking at her. She used to sing for her children when they were toddlers to help them sleep. She never thought she could sing so she only done it when the children were too young to remember.

"Phoebe, mommy can't sing. Get daddy to sing for you." She said gently.

"No, daddy doesn't have a pretty voice like you!" the eight year old said giving her mother the same puppy dog eyes she gave her father not too long ago. Ana sighed and pulled her daughter into her arms.

Christian looked up again when he heard his daughter laughing loudly than she was before and saw that his wife was tickling her. He smiled. Times like this, with his family, were the good times he wouldn't change for anything. Phoebe was begging for mercy in between breaths before Ana finally took pity and stopped. Grinning even wider, Christian whispered in Ted's ear who passed the message onto his other brothers who all grinned and giggled again. Crawling over to his wife and daughter, Christian took them into his arms and started the tickling torture on the pair of them, Ted, Nick and James running over to join in.

"Christian... stop... it!" Ana pleaded.

"Daddy!" Phoebe squealed. Stopping his ticking, he took his family into his arms, as best he could, and held them tight.

"I love you all," he whispered. "Now, mommy, aren't you going to sing our children a song before they go to bed? It is getting toward eight o'clock after all. And it looks like James has already started to fall asleep." He said looking at his now exhausted three year old, who somehow managed to curl up on Ana's lap.

"I suppose so. But you owe me one, Grey," she whispered the last part and he grinned. Stroking her hand through James' soft coppery brown hair, a mixture of his parents, she started to softly sing one of the children's favourite songs from when they were much younger. Christian switched on the iPod station that was in the room and the soft music to Heather Dale's 'One of Us' started to play. Ana started to sing.

_"__Before I got to fighting (or when fighting got to me)  
I looked to find examples on the field of chivalry  
And I saw mighty arms much stronger than my arms could ever be  
So I thought perhaps the field was not for me_

_But still I stayed and watched the fighting 'til one figure stood apart_  
_In armour newly fashioned and a helm more pot than art_  
_But each blow was thrown with honour and a lightness of the heart_  
_So I took that step which soon became a start,"_

Standing up with James in her arms she balanced him on one hip, his arms around her neck, and held out her free hand for Phoebe, who took it and let Ana lead her upstairs to bed while she was still singing. Christian followed carrying Nick and holding Teddy's hand.

_"'Cause she was not the biggest fighter nor one to raise a fuss_  
_But I remember being proud that she was one of us_  
_And we might never stand together in the shield-wall side by side_  
_But because of her I lift my sword with pride,"_  
_She was ladylike and lively, not the type you would expect_  
_With a braver heart than many and a slot-shot to respect_  
_I guess she'd once decided this was where she'd like to be_  
_And I thought if she could do it, why not me_

_'Cause she was not the biggest fighter nor one to raise a fuss_  
_But I remember being proud that she was one of us_  
_And we might never stand together in the shield-wall side by side_  
_But because of her I lift my sword with pride"_

The iPod was connected to all the stations in the house, Christian somehow managed it, so the music could be heard all the way up the stone staircase to each of the children's bedroom. Placing James on his bed and tucking him in, she continued to sing and led each of her children to their bedroom.

_"So now as I gather armour, bits and pieces here and there,  
I think about examples: how you act, and what you dare  
'Cause you never know who's watching or how far that story goes  
And where're that Lady is I hope she knows_

_'Cause she was not the biggest fighter, nor one to raise a fuss_  
_But I remember being proud that she was one of us_  
_And we might never stand together in the shield-wall side by side_  
_But because of her I lift my sword with pride_  
_We may never stand together in the shield-wall side by side_  
_But because of her I lift my sword with pride!"_

Tucking the final child into bed, Ana and Christian watched from the doorway as Teddy fell asleep as she finished her song. Turning to her husband, Ana let out a sigh of relief. "You, Mr. Grey, are still full of surprises." She grinned.

"What do you mean, Mrs. Grey?" he grinned back.

"You told Phoebe to ask me to sing for them didn't you?" he grinned again but said nothing. "Well, you owe me one for that, Grey."

"I would be happy to oblige." Smiling she placed a hand over his, which was skimming her body in his sexual predator way.

"No. I think I will punish you for that and decide not to let you have your wicked way with me, tonight," she said flirtingly. His eyes widened and he started to pout. He had the same effect on her when as she did on him when she bit her lip. "Don't pout. It's childish. I'm going to clean up downstairs." She grinned even wider.

"I will have you, Anastasia. I always do." He whispered. Kissing his cheek, she quickly walked away, but he caught her and carried her to their bedroom. Giggling she started to struggle, slapping his backside from her position over his shoulder, only to receive a sharp, quick slap on hers. Shaking her head, she stopped struggling while waiting for him to put her down. He only did so on their bed.

"Well, Mr Grey. Now that you have me, what are you going to do with me?" she asked.

"I'm going to undress you, very slowly, and then I'm going to take my sweet time making love to you." He replied, seductively, kissing and sucking on her neck. Before she knew it, he had taken her clothes off and was loving her as slowly and as sweetly as possible, savouring her, until they both fell asleep on each other, rather content with life.

**... ... ...**

Ana woke to someone tugging her hand on Sunday morning. Opening her eyes she saw Teddy standing in front of her with wide blue eyes. He looked scared and worried. Glancing at the digital clock next to her bed she realised it was nearly nine in the morning. Christian was still wrapped around her. Looking back to her son, Ana tried to speak, but due to just waking up her voice sounded croaky.

"What's the matter, Teddy?" she asked.

"You and daddy aren't up yet. You're always up early to eat breakfast with us but you're still in bed. Are you ok?" he asked concerned. Ana smiled, gently. Teddy was such a loving child who always liked to make sure everyone else was ok and had learnt his parent's routines, to a certain extent.

He knew, for example, the exact time they would get up each morning. What time they would wake him and his siblings. What they like to eat for breakfast and the time they eat. When they leave for work, when they get home from work, dinner time, going to their private offices to finish work while he did homework before they finally spent an hour or two with him and his siblings before everyone went off to bed. Because he was so used to this routine, he worried when something is different in it. Like the fact his parents have slept in over an hour later than usual.

"We're fine, Teddy. I guess mommy and daddy were more tired than they realised. Why don't you go get your brothers and sister to wake up daddy?" she suggested and Teddy smiled, running out of the bedroom to find his siblings. Christian didn't stir at all. He must be really tired.

Two minutes later, Teddy returned with his brothers, no Phoebe, and they all ran and jumped on the bed telling Christian to wake up. Opening his eyes Christian smiled at the sight of his sons joining them, James being pulled into Ana's arms.

"Who disturbs my slumber?" he whispered like the cave in the Disney film 'Aladdin', one of the children's favourite films.

"We do!" Teddy laughed before turning serious. "Mommy, daddy I don't think Phoebe's well. I went to get her up but she was pale, lying in bed, crying that she didn't feel well." Christian and Ana looked at each other, before Ana moved James off her to check on her daughter. She returned two minutes later looking worried.

"Boys, will you go back downstairs and ask Gail to get you some breakfast, then go and get dressed please? Teddy, hold James' hand. Christian, I think you should come and see Phoebe," she said. They all did so and Christian found his baby girl curled up on bed crying her little eyes out. Kneeling next to her he stroked her cheek and asked gently what the matter was.

"My... tummy... h-hurts," she cried. She looked so cute and innocent like this but it was breaking Christian's heart to see her in pain. Ana knelt down next to him.

"It's ok, baby. Mommy and daddy will look after you," she said gently. Christian felt her forehead; she was really warm so he naturally started to panic.

"I'm going to go call my mother," he said. "Will you stay with her?"

"Of course I will. Go on,"

"Daddy, don't go!" Phoebe pleaded. He kissed her forehead and promised he would be right back. Going back to his room he grabbed his BlackBerry and dialled Grace's number.

"Christian?" she asked, shock and worry clear in her voice. He very rarely called her when he did; it was normally because one of the children was ill. "What's wrong?"

"Phoebe's ill and we're worried about her. She feels really warm and she's crying uncontrollably, complaining about stomach pains." He answered.

"Has she been throwing up?" she asked.

"I don't think so. Are you able to come over and have a look at her, please? I'm really worried."

"Yes. Give me some time shower and get over there. I should be an hour tops." He thanked her and hung up, going back to Phoebe's room. Kneeling down next to Ana he told her that Grace was on her way.

"Christian, she doesn't need to come all the way here. I'm sure we could have managed on our own." Ana scolded as Phoebe suddenly sat up and vomited over the edge of the bed, narrowly missing her parents. Christian felt her forehead and she was getting warmer and ordered Ana to get the thermometer. When she came back the found that her temperature was too high and got Phoebe to settle back down in bed.

As promised, an hour later, Grace turned up and saw to her granddaughter. Ana had gone downstairs to see the boys while Christian stayed with Phoebe. Grace seemed to be worried and that made Christian even more so.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"I think we should get her to hospital. I think this may be appendicitis." Grace said, professionally. "Pack her a small bag of clothes while I ring for an ambulance. Then go and tell Ana. I'm sure she'll want to know," she said before taking her phone out and phoning for an ambulance. Christian quickly packed Phoebe a bag with clothes, her favourite pyjamas and a couple of her cuddly toys, including her fluffy Erik penguin from her favourite film 'Happy Feet Two'.

Once he'd done this he went downstairs to find his wife and sons laughing at the breakfast bar. Walking up to her, he quietly told her what was happening and she started to worry. "Appendicitis?" she asked. He nodded. "Shall I come with you to the hospital?"

"I think one of us should stay with the boys. I'll go and I'll call you if anything happens." He said kissing her forehead as the ambulance turned up. He led them to Phoebe's room where Grace was trying to calm her down as she was still crying uncontrollably. She turned the paramedics walked in and tried talking to the eight year old while they moved her onto a stretcher to move her to the ambulance to take her to the hospital.

Ten minutes after they turned up the ambulance was driving off again, with Phoebe and Christian inside. Grace said she would follow behind in her car. Ana stayed with her sons and tried to cheer them up.

"Right then, boys. What do you want to do today?"

"Mommy, what's wrong with Phoebe?" Teddy asked. Ana smiled gently.

"She's not feeling very well, so she's gone to stay with people who can look after her. You don't need to worry, Teddy bear, she's going to be fine," she answered. Teddy just nodded and decided not to push the matter.

Teddy had the 'gift of sight'. He observed everything to try and make sense of it and if he thought it wasn't good he would alert his parents. He also saw people's behaviours and feelings of other people, especially his mother and siblings. His father was harder to read. He could see that Ana didn't want to talk about what was happening with Phoebe. "So what shall we do today?" she asked again and Teddy grinned.

"Ice cream!" he shouted and Nick and James squealed in agreement. Christian only let the children have ice cream in the evening after dinner and that was only on Friday and Saturday evenings. He wanted them to eat as healthily as possible and decided ice cream wasn't healthy enough to eat all the time. Ana smiled knowing she shouldn't deny her sons this as Phoebe wasn't well and she didn't want to tell them anything.

"If we get ice cream, you must promise not to tell daddy," she whispered as if Christian was still there, listening in. The boys all nodded, even James who appeared to be very intelligent for a three year old. Standing up, Ana started to gather their coats and put them on them before slipping into her new designer black coat Christian bought her for her birthday. She picked up James and put him in one of their strollers; it had two seats in it so she put Nick in next to him. Even though Nick was five years old, he had trouble listening to his parents instructions when they go out so he often gets put in the stroller until he can be trusted. Ana didn't want to deal with bad behaviour so she just put him in until they arrived at the ice cream parlour.

When the boys were sorted, Ana called to Sawyer and alerted him of their plan. He smiled and said he'd follow and get Ryan to take a car and meet them there, in case they want to drive back. It was a long(ish) walk after all.

"Teddy, hold onto the stroller for mommy and don't let go until I tell you and you can have extra sprinkles on your ice cream," Ana told her oldest son who quickly ran up and held onto the pushchair. "Good boy. So are you all ready?" they all nodded and they were off. Teddy watched as Ana's bracelet jingled as she walked. It was the bracelet Christian gave her for her twenty-second birthday, the first birthday she was with him. The kids loved watching it glisten and jingle in the sun in summer. After ten minutes of walking Nick started making noises and screaming that he wanted to walk. Not being able to calm him down, Ana stopped walking and knelt down in front of him, telling Teddy to stay where he was.

"Nick, stop with the crying or you can't have any ice cream topping," she warned. If Christian was there he would say he wouldn't be allowed any ice cream at all if he carried on but Ana's heart would break at the others having ice cream and not him.

"I want to walk!" he said stubbornly. Ana sighed.

"If I let you walk, you must hold onto the stroller and not let go at all, do you understand?" she sounded like a strict mother. But she was really just worried. Christian was the one to do the stern talks, but he was at the hospital with their daughter. Nick just nodded and Ana let him out of the pram. Holding his hand and making him hold onto the bar they continued walking. Ten minutes later, they arrived at the ice cream parlour, but had to wait twenty minutes before it opened for lunch. Not wanting to wait around for twenty minutes, Ana took the boys into the neighbouring toy store, letting them pick out a toy each to give to Phoebe to make her feel better.

Teddy, behaving himself, stayed close to his mother asking to go to different parts of the store so they could look at the different toys. Nick, however, decided to test her patience and kept running off. She was thankful Sawyer had followed them as he carried Nick back every time. After the third time Ana had enough. Kneeling in front of him, she looked into his eyes.

"Nick, if you do not stop running off I will hold onto your hand for the rest of the day or put you back in the stroller, do you understand?" she said. Nick was grinning like an idiot but nodded his head regardless. However, as soon as she stood up again, he ran in the opposite direction. Quickly catching his wrist, she pulled him back and put him in the stroller again. He naturally started crying loudly in the middle of the store but she ignored him and went back to helping Teddy decide between the two cuddly toys he wanted to give his sister; a cuddly 'Mumble' penguin from 'Happy Feet' to go with her Erik penguin and a 'Me-to-You' bear holding a heart with 'special sister' written on it. As they couldn't decide, they decided to get her both.

"Right then, boys, shall we go get ice cream, or do you want to stay longer?" Ana asked checking her watch.

"Stay longer!" Teddy said and pointed to a toy train set. Ana smiled and they wandered over there. "We should get this for daddy," Teddy commented and James laughed in agreement. He was a very smart three year old. Ana laughed.

"Does that mean we should get it for daddy to play with, or get it for daddy to give to Teddy?" she asked wrapping her arms around him and tickled him playfully.

"Both!" Ana just continued to laugh and agreed. Sawyer picked up one of the boxes of the toy train set and watched as he tried to carry that, the two toys Ted picked up for Phoebe, the teddy bear James wanted and the bag full of superhero action figures Nick was getting. Laughing at his struggling she whispered in Teddy's ear.

"Why don't you help Sawyer carry all those toys?" she said and he ran over to take the cuddly toys of their security member. As she pushed the stroller passed the book area of the shop, Nick tried to reach out and grab one. Realising this is what Nick wanted all along; she knelt down to see what book it was. "Is this what you wanted the whole time?" she asked and he nodded. She sighed. "Why didn't you just tell mommy that you wanted to look at the books? We could have come over here sooner and mommy wouldn't have put you back in the stroller." She said and he shrugged. She looked down at the book he picked up. Roald Dahl's 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. Looking back up she smiled and gave it to Teddy to carry before letting Nick out of the stroller again. "Hold onto the stroller for mommy like you did when we were outside." She said as she walked over to pay for their purchases.

When they finally arrived at the ice cream parlour Ana was relieved to sit down after ordering the boys favourite ice cream. She and Teddy were talking about all the fun things he would be doing in school next week when Christian phoned. She was comforted when he told her Phoebe was going to be fine. Grace had decided to operate and remove her appendix once it was confirmed that was the cause of making her ill. She was now stuck in a hospital bed for at least three days so Grace can keep an eye on her. Phoebe had a habit of being a worst case scenario when it came to being ill. "Would you like to speak to your sons?" Ana asked when they had finished talking. She put Ted on the phone and he and Christian were talking about their solar powered toy plans which Teddy decided would be a new project in Christian's business. Nick talked Christian about his new book and the toys they bought for Phoebe while James just made random noises that most three-year-olds make before the phone was hung up.

The ice cream was finished and the mother and sons went for a quick walk to the park before going home. Ana's feet were aching so they took the car back with Ryan and Sawyer. Christian stayed with their baby girl all day and all night seeing Ana briefly when Gail offered to watch the boys for a few hours. The boys wanted to go see Phoebe as well but Ana decided to leave her to rest and they could go tomorrow. For now, she would go alone.

Seeing Phoebe pale and sleeping in the hospital broke her heart but also gave her a peace of mind. Phoebe was only sleeping and she wasn't in any pain. Christian wrapped his arms around his wife and held her close to his chest, kissing her cheek from behind.

"She's fine baby. She's not in any pain and the operation went well. We just got to wait for her to wake up now."

"I hope it doesn't take too long. I'm going to bring the boys by tomorrow. They have some presents for her," she replied.

"Oh yes, that reminds me. What business took you to town today, Mrs Grey?" he asked, playfully.

"Oh, you know. Daughter was ill, trying to keep sons busy. They wanted to go to the toy store, I just couldn't refuse." She grinned.

"Did that visit include the ice cream parlour?" she giggled and nodded. "I thought the children weren't allowed ice cream if it's not Friday night?"

"They were worried about Phoebe. And that ice cream is good stuff," she turned and kissed him. "Don't go pulling out your hair over a bit of sugar, husband of mine." He wasn't angry at her, she was just reassuring him. Of what, neither were really sure. "I better get home. You look after my only daughter," they kissed before she left. Christian sat by her bed again and took her hand, gently stroking the back of it with his thumb. After some time she opened her eyes, though he could tell she was exhausted.

"Daddy?" she whispered. "Am I ok, now?" he smiled, nodded and let out a sigh of relief. He assured her that she was fine and that she was in the hospital. Although, natural Grey genes meant she wasn't happy about that. "Can I go home? I want to go home and see mommy." Christian just shook his head and said she wasn't well enough to go home just yet. This just made her more upset and she started to cry. "But I want to play hide-and-seek tonight! Teddy said we could and he would let me hide this time!" she cried.

"I know baby, but you're not well enough right now. When you're feeling better you can play hide-and-seek to your heart's content," he tried. She just sat up straight, ignoring the pain in her side.

"I'm feeling better now. Can we go?" he just grinned and made her lay back down. She still felt warm so the doctor wanted to keep her in until the fever had gone down. However, trying to explain that took some time, but he stayed calm. Actually, he had never managed to stay so calm when telling his kids they couldn't do something so he made a mental reminder to tell Ana. When he'd finished explaining everything to her, he realised she had fallen asleep. _Am I really that boring? _He asked himself but smiled anyway. It was good to see her her resting. She was as stubborn as Ana was.

As promised the next day, the boys went to visit their sister once they'd finished school. She was so happy when Teddy gave her the cuddly toys and tried to jump up to hug him but Christian held her back. She was so restless and bored, being confined to bed. She decided that her father couldn't stay much longer.

"Daddy, you smell. You should go home," she said grinning and her mother and brothers burst into laughter.

"She's got you there Christian," Ana said. "Why don't you go home, shower, get changed and come back tomorrow after work and I'll stay here?" he didn't like that idea, but thought it may be good to spend some time with his sons since he hadn't seen them in over twenty-four hours.

"Ok, I will, but you, young lady, are not to get out of bed. I will know," he said directly to Phoebe, tapping her nose with his index finger before kissing her forehead. She rolled her eyes causing Ana to laugh and Christian trying to look unimpressed but his smile couldn't hold itself back. He shook his head a bid farewell to his wife before leaving his girls alone.

**... ... ...**

Thursday afternoon, Grace had declared Phoebe well enough to go home, but she still needed to rest. Ana decided to take the day off work to stay with her, with James. They sat in her bedroom, watching her favourite Disney movies while playing with each other's hair, Barbie and princess dolls. James just sat on the bed his eyes fixed on the small flat screen TV Christian had installed. He didn't normally let his children have TV's in their bedroom at such a young age, but he had this one put up so Phoebe wouldn't be bored lying in bed all day.

Teddy and Nick arrived home from school around three thirty and Ted went to his room to do his little bit of homework, while Nick went to sit with Phoebe, Ana and James. When Ted was finished with his math questions he also joined them, just as Ana was putting one of Phoebe's favourite movies on; 'Happy Feet'. They all sat or lay down on the bed squashed closely together, laughing like the happy family they were. When 'Happy Feet' finished Ana put the 'Happy Feet Two' DVD on, Phoebe's favourite film of all time. Just as she hit the 'play' button, there was a knock at the door and Christian poked his head in.

"Excuse me, have you seen my wife, sons and daughter?" he asked jokily. They all looked up and Nick jumped off the bed to hug his father. He looked at the TV screen and then to his daughter. "Again?" he asked and she nodded happily.

"Erik is so cute, daddy!" she said.

"Would you like to join us daddy?" Ana asked, laughing. Christian just nodded and walked over to slide onto the bed, moving Phoebe so he could sit behind her and had her sit between his legs. Ana snuggled up next to him, James in her lap with Teddy and Nick lying on their tummy's on top of the duvet while they all watched Erik slip and land head first in the ice. The boys started laughing when he started to pee and couldn't stop but Phoebe just quoted Bo saying; "It's not funny!"

When the song 'Bridge of Light' came on, Ana started to sing quietly to her babies.

_"That's when you can build a bridge of light,  
That's what turns the wrong so right  
That's when you can't give up the fight_

_That's when love turns night time into day,_  
_That's when loneliness goes away,_  
_That's why you gotta be strong tonight,_  
_Only love can build us a bridge of light."_

Phoebe smiled at her mommy and leaned up to kiss her cheek. She loved listening to her sing and decided to join in. Christian smiled and closed his eyes listening to his girls singing, beautifully. Even the boys turned to watch them as they sang together. When they finished they just giggled and continued to watch the movie. By the end of it, Phoebe was falling asleep against Christian's chest and Gail knocked on the door to alert them dinner was ready.

"Phoebe, baby. Come on, let's go and eat dinner then you can come back up to bed," Christian said. Phoebe nodded and he carried her down to the dining room. He sat her in her chair, next to him, and they ate Gail's delicious macaroni and cheese. The conversation was light and Phoebe picked at her food, still feeling a little ill. She hadn't eaten much since she went to hospital and Christian was starting to worry. "Phoebe, will you just eat your dinner and stop picking at it?" he snapped, immediately regretting it when he saw her tear up. "I'm sorry baby. Are you not hungry? You haven't eaten much."

"My tummy still hurts." She said quietly. He took her fork and split her food up into two portions, telling her to eat the smaller one and he'd say no more. She attempted the smaller portion and he was pleased to see she ate all of it. He smiled at her and she gave him one of her famous, everyday, bright grins, before yawning. When everyone had finished dinner, Christian scooped his little girl into his arms and carried her back up to her bedroom, putting her into bed. After putting on one of her CD's that he and Ana had made of Ana singing softly, he kissed her forehead and she drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

"Goodnight, my little princess."

When he went back downstairs, he thought he'd set up the train set Teddy had bought for them to play with while Ana put James and Nick to bed. It was seven thirty and Ted went to bed at eight. Eight thirty if he was lucky.

"You two look like your having fun," Ana said as she walked back in and sat on the sofa, picking up her sketch pad.

Ana had started drawing not long after Teddy was born, when she was on maternity leave and didn't have anything to do and couldn't read because she would get distracted too easily. One day she picked up her notepad and a pencil and decided to try doodling to help pass time when her son was napping. Somehow, though, she managed to draw an accurate picture of her sleeping baby and therefore, started to draw most evenings to remember these happy memories. There were some of her drawings hung up in Christian's office, mainly an individual picture of their four beautiful children.

Once she finished sharpening her pencil, she continued the drawing she had started the night before of her eldest son and her husband on the floor playing with the toy train set. They were busy finishing laying the tracks down before the trains could be out.

"Where does this piece go Teddy?" Christian asked holding up a curvy piece of track. Ted pointed to the spot in front of him and Christian leaned forward to put it down. Once Ted had put the final track piece down, Christian got out two trains. A blue and a green one. Teddy took the blue one and attached it to the track and Christian done the same with the green one. Ana laughed as they started driving their trains around picking up 'passengers' from the platforms and racing each other around. It reminded her of a father and son playing cars together on a TV programme she'd once watched, except this father and son had trains. Christian had his train get up close to Teddy's train and start going "choo-choo!" causing him to laugh. Looking at the clock Ana realised it was eight forty-five. Way passed Teddy's bedtime.

"Boys, I think it's time for bed now. It's eight forty-five." They looked at her as if she'd grown another head.

"Mommy!" they both moaned. She had to laugh at her husband, but her heart broke when she looked at Ted. He really didn't want to go to bed, but he had school in the morning. She knew she was going to be the bad guy in this situation and Christian was having far too much fun playing with his son's toys. Maybe she could persuade him to play with their own toys in bed tonight?

"Yes, Teddy. It's getting late and you have school tomorrow. You've been playing with daddy for over an hour. You can play again tomorrow. Now pack it up please." She said. Teddy looked at his dad for help but Ana shot him a warning look. "Don't look at daddy as he's not going to help you. The only thing he will help you with is packing up the train set." Christian checked his watch and agreed with Ana.

"Come on, Ted. Let's go to bed. How about we leave it set up so it's ready when you get home from school?" Teddy just nodded in agreement and kissed his parents goodnight before leaving the room. Christian said he'd be up shortly to tuck him in properly. "Now, mommy. Do I have to go to bed too?" he asked seductively. Ana grinned.

"Only if you have some toys to play with, _sir."_ She replied. He grinned.

"I'm sure I can sort something out. But first I think we should make sure all our children are in bed asleep. Then we can really have playtime." He teased, kissing her forehead.

Ten minutes later, the children had been checked on and the young couple were in their bedroom engaging in some rather explicit playtime. Ana's back arched as her husband teased her down _there_ with his tongue and fingers and she gasped begging for mercy and begging for him to love her in their favourite way in the whole world. Him being buried inside her.

"I love you so much, Mrs Grey." He whispered to her. They were tangled together, her cheek resting on his chest.

"I love you too, Christian. More than you'll ever know," she whispered back.

"Don't ever leave me," she looked up to him.

"Never," she promised and kissed him. Soon they were lost in each other. She didn't know that one day, that promise would be broken. And that day would be arriving quicker than anybody realised.

**... ... ...**

Christian and Ana kept Phoebe at home on Friday but on Saturday morning she was up and jumping on them to get out of bed as if she was never ill in the first place.

"Come on mommy, daddy! Get up!" she squealed as her brothers walked in to join in the waking of their parents.

"Your children want you, Mr Grey," Ana mumbled sleepily.

"Before eight on a Saturday, they are your children, Mrs Grey." He replied.

"You said to me once you function on less sleep than I do, therefore right now, they're your children while I sleep," she giggled causing him to wrap his arms around her and tickle her.

"Really Mrs Grey? Hey kids?" he looked at his children. "Want to help daddy torture mommy?" he joked. The boys quite happily jumped on top of them and started their strange tickling. Phoebe just sat on the bed, arms crossed looking at her father with a stern look on her face, although it was a playful look.

"Daddy shouldn't torture mommy. Daddy should go and make breakfast," she said. Christian burst into laughter.

"I can tell your feeling better." He said, stopping his tickling torture on Ana and got out of bed. Picking up his daughter he ran down to the kitchen, Teddy and Nick following laughing. Gail was already cooking pancakes and smiled when she saw her employer and his children running around. When he settled Phoebe into a chair, he picked up Nick and settled him onto his own chair. Teddy climbed up onto his chair and Christian turned to find Ana carrying James and putting him in his highchair.

"Here you go kids," Gail said placing a plate of freshly cooked pancakes in front of each of them before putting out plate of fruit and chocolate chips. Christian put banana on Phoebe's plate, she always had a banana with her pancakes, Strawberries on Teddy and Nick's plates and a few chocolate chips on James' plate. He poured some syrup on his own pancake and saw Ana just eating some fruit on its own.

"Don't want any pancake, Mrs Grey?" he asked. She shook her head and claimed she didn't feel like eating pancake. When they all finished, Ana had decided to take Phoebe out for the day and give the boys some time to hang out.

"Where are you going to go?" Christian asked.

"I don't know yet, Christian. Stop worrying, nothing is going to happen. I'll have Sawyer _and _Marx with me. I'm thinking maybe the ice cream parlour to have the ice cream she missed out on last week."

"Just, make sure Sawyer and Marx stay nearby at all times, Ana. And ring me when you get there. You know how I worry."

"I know." She kissed him and slipped her coat on before getting Phoebe ready.

**... ... ...**

When mother and daughter arrived at the ice cream parlour they had already gone round to as many shops as Phoebe could drag Ana in to. Ana smiled as she watched Sawyer and Marx struggle to carry all Phoebe's shopping bags full of clothes and toys. She had insisted on buying Christian a new tie and bought each of the boys a thank you present for the ones they bought her when she was in the hospital. Teddy was bought a solar powered helicopter to match Christians one Ana had bought him, Nick the whole Roald Dahl collection and James had a new teddy bear.

"So, Phoebe, what do you want on your ice cream?"

"Chocolate!" the eight year old said happily. Ana ordered chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips and Phoebe quite happily ate it all. When she finished Ana took her hand and they went for a walk in the park. Sawyer and Marx quickly took the shopping bags back to the car, leaving Ana and Phoebe alone for no more than two minutes. However it was two minutes too long.

Before anyone knew what was happening a gunshot replaced the peace and quiet of the park. Phoebe looked up and saw a grey haired man with dark eyes tuck the gun away and run in the opposite direction before she felt her mother pull her hand down to the floor. Looking down at her, Phoebe saw that Ana was bleeding in the chest really bad.

"Mommy?" she asked. Ana smiled at her weakly and Phoebe realised that she had, in fact, been shot. "Mommy!" she screamed this time.

"Phoebe," Ana whispered. Sawyer and Marx appeared behind Phoebe taking in the situation. Sawyer looked at Marx and Marx took out his phone to ring Taylor. Sawyer knelt down next to Phoebe. "Sawyer, look after her." Ana barely whispered. " I love you, baby." A tear slipped down her cheek and she closed her eyes. She let out one last breath before she went completely limp. Phoebe put her head on Ana's chest.

"Mommy, come on. Get up!" she cried. As Sawyer picked up the little girl, it only caused her to scream out and fight against him.

"Sawyer. Taylor and Mr Grey are on the way and I've called the police." Marx said. Sawyer just nodded and pulled Phoebe close, wrapping his arms tightly around her.

"Go and search the area for the murderer!" he ordered. He looked at his friend and boss. After what felt like a lifetime, the police arrived closely followed by Taylor and Christian. Taking one look at his wife Christian fell to his knees and took his daughter into his arms, squeezing her tighter than necessary.

"Ana." He cried. Looking at Sawyer he stood up, Phoebe still in his arms. "What happened?!" he snapped.

* * *

**Sorry but it was long enough as it was. **

**If I get a good response to this story I will update it. I already have a few chapters written out but I will only upload one a week so I can (hopefully) stick to a time frame so you're not waiting forever for a new chapter.**

**Please review and let me know what you think as I'm not sure if I should continue this one or not.**

**Also, if anyone can think of a better title, let me know as I'm not very good with coming up with them**


	2. Chapter 2: Aftermath

**Ok, so I've had mixed reviews of this story so far. In fact plenty of people don't like it because of what I've done to Ana. If you're still reading this story I want to say thank you (I know it's only chapter 2). **

**Also, I'm sorry I uploaded later than planned... I've been busy and my computer has been running slow and I've had no patience with it. I hope to upload once a week but let's just see hw fast I am at writing.**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Aftermath**

Ana being shot affected everyone. Especially Christian. After Sawyer explained to him what happened he went extremely mad that his wife and daughter weren't being watched before sitting down, holding Phoebe tightly.

After he met his family at the hospital, where Phoebe got checked over for injuries and was told that nothing could be done for his wife, he was taken home. All the time refusing to let Phoebe go.

**... ... ...**

"Mr Grey, we are terribly sorry for your loss. But there was nothing we could do, the bullet penetrated her heart." The doctor was saying. Christian said and done nothing, just tightened his arms around his eight year old daughter. She was crying into his neck, holding him tight, terrified he would let her go. But he would never let her go. Never again.

"Christian?" it was Grace's voice. His mother, the woman who saved him when he was four years old. He looked up to her and saw she was trying to hold back tears of her own. He looked like the lost little boy she took in all those years ago. He hadn't had to deal with this before. "Come on, son. Let's get you out of here." She said looking to her husband and other son for help. Carrick and Elliot stood from their seat in the hospital waiting room and wrapped their arms around Christian carrying him out of the hospital.

It was a difficult task as he refused to release his baby girl. The rest of the family followed as they left. Mia, Kate, little Ava, Teddy, Nick and James followed staying close to their grandmother. This was hard for everyone. She was so loved.

Before he knew it, they were home. He didn't know what to say, he was still in shock. People were talking around him, but he just sat down on the large sofa in their lounge, his children sitting with him.

"Gail, can you get Christian some tea, please"? He heard Grace say.

"Grace, I don't think he needs tea. Maybe something stronger." Carrick said.

"I think we all need something stronger," Elliot said. "Hey, Kate," he soothed. "Shhh, calm down. It's alright." He whispered.

"No it's not Elliot!" he heard Kate snap at her husband.

"Ok, calm down, everyone. Christian doesn't need this right now." Grace snapped. She managed to keep her tears in since they found out what happened. Poor Phoebe. That will have scarred her for life.

"I think you should all leave." Christian whispered. It was the first thing he had said in six hours. "I have to sort out the funeral."

"Christian, you don't need to worry about that just yet." Grace said soothingly. "We can sort it out tomorrow."

"No. I need to sort it out." He continued. Grace's tears were more than for what happened. They were for her son. She had never seen him like this; he was always so strong and in control of everything. Now all he reminded her of was the little four year old she saved. Regaining her posture she spoke once more.

"Why don't we stay the night and talk in the morning. You look exhausted." Reluctantly, he nodded and stood. Handing his sleeping daughter to his mothers open arms, he walked in a daze up to their... his bedroom. Lying down on her side he inhaled her scent. Tears filled his eyes and he finally let his crying consume him.

"Oh, Ana!" he sobbed into her pillow, over and over, before sleep took him. Her face haunted his dreams, but he didn't kick or scream. It was actually a peaceful sleep. She smiled at him, placed her hand on his chest, kissed his cheek. Even in death, his Ana kept him calm.

**... ... ...**

"We should ring Ray and Carla," Grace said once she managed to convince Christian to go upstairs to bed.

"Tomorrow. You need to sleep too, Grace." Carrick said once they finished putting their grandchildren to bed. Kate, Elliot and Ava went to the room they normally slept in when they visited their brother and sister.

"Cary, they need to know."

"Come on. Bed. We'll call them tomorrow." He wouldn't hear anything else and just led Grace to the room they always slept in. It didn't take them long to fall asleep.

**... ... ...**

A piercing scream woke the house. Grace sat up straight in bed and Carrick followed shortly after.

"What is that?" he asked sleepily.

"It sounds like one of Christians nightmares," Grace replied, climbing out of bed. "I'll go and check on him." However, as she exited the room, she bumped into Christian but the screaming continued to deafen the house. Kate and Elliot emerged from their room with Ava hiding behind Kate's leg. Teddy, Nick and James were also standing in the hall, their hands covering their ears.

"What is that noise?" Elliot grumbled.

"Elliot shut up!" Kate snapped.

"Daddy?" Nick cried.

"Mommy!" Ava cried.

"MOMMY!" Phoebe screamed. Christian ran into her room and tried to wake her. He pleaded with her. Suddenly her eyes shot open. "Daddy?" she whispered. He nodded and held her tight. Grace watched in the doorway and sent everyone back to bed. It was three in the morning. When they all disappeared, she walked over and knelt next to the bed, where Christian lay to hold his daughter.

"Phoebe, it's ok. Daddy's got you," Christian cried. She was crying hard into his chest. "Shhh, no one's going to hurt you. I promise."

"I want mommy," she sobbed.

"I know," he kissed the top of her head. "I do too,"

"Christian, why don't you go back to bed. I'll stay with Phoebe," Grace said but before Christian even got to say no, Phoebe screamed and clung to her father even tighter.

"No, mom. I'm going to stay with her tonight." He said calming her again. Grace just nodded and left the room. Not long after they fell asleep again. Grace crawled back into bed and snuggled next to Carrick.

"Are you ok?" he asked concerned. She just shook her head.

"Oh, Cary. She was an angel. She saved Christian so many times and never done anything to hurt others. Why did she have to die?" the dam finally burst and Carrick held his wife close as she started o finally cry over the loss of someone so special to their family. An hour later, they were both asleep again.

**... ... ...**

The Grey family managed to sleep until mid morning once Phoebe had settled down. Gail had started preparing breakfast at eight o'clock to take her mind off the fact that her boss, who was so kind, generous and managed to control Mr Grey, was dead. No one came downstairs, however until ten. All wearing a look of sorrow, tears in Kate's and the children's eyes. Ted, Nick and James just sat and said nothing. They did nothing. They were confused. One minute, they're all one big happy family and the next their moms disappeared and everyone's crying. Ted had a better understanding when he was told mommy had gone to heaven but Nick and James thought that meant she would be back, like she was after trips to New York.

Grace entered the kitchen to find Kate and Elliot trying to get the boys to eat. Ava was sitting quietly, eating some pancakes, but Ted refused to touch anything. Nick and James ate a little bit but their confusion was getting the better of them and they were mimicking Teddy. Carrick was on the phone, talking quietly in the corner of the room, trying to keep his anger controlled. The phone hadn't stopped ringing since the press had found out about the shooting in the park that took Mrs Anastasia Greys life. Quickly, she pulled her phone out of her purse to ring Carla, Ana's mother. It wasn't fair if she heard through the newspapers what had happened.

"Grace?" she said sleepily, even though it was one in the afternoon in Savannah.

"Carla? I'm not sure how to tell you this. It's Ana."

"What's happened?" Carla asked suspiciously. Calmly and slowly, Grace explained what had happened to her daughter-in-law. Carla was in tears when Grace finished explaining. Grace was crying again and promised to have Christian send his jet down to bring her to Seattle soon. It took over an hour before Grace was able to hang up the phone, at this point she heard that Carrick was on the phone to Ray, Ana's step-father. Shortly after he managed to hang up, Christian walked into the kitchen, carrying Phoebe in his arms. He gently placed her on a bar stool before going to grab a cup of coffee, then he look at his parents.

"I need to ring Ray and Carla," he said simply, not making eye contact.

"Don't worry about that son. Your mother and I have already done that." Carrick replied, staying strong for his whole family. Christian just nodded and quietly thanked them. He sat down at the breakfast bar and saw that none of his children were eating. "Come on, kids. You need to eat breakfast. I know we're all upset but we need to stay strong." He said glancing at Phoebe. Her little eyes were full of tears yet to fall. He was worried about her. _Really_ worried.

A knock at the front door disturbed everyone. A few moments later, Taylor was leading a police officer and a detective into the large kitchen.

"Please, forgive this intrusion Mr Grey," the older guy, the detective, said. "I'm detective Carson and I'm afraid I have to ask you a few questions." He glanced at the whole family. "You're all relatives of the late Mrs Grey?" they all nodded. "Ok, then. Do you mind if I speak to all of those at the park yesterday? It's just protocol and it means I'll leave you alone sooner." Christian nodded.

"Taylor, go and get Sawyer and Marx. Phoebe? Come with daddy for a minute. You can finish you chocolate hoops in a minute. And all the milk will be chocolaty." He smiled at the last part, knowing she liked to leave her cereal so she milk tasted really chocolaty. However, she didn't smile back. She silently slipped off her stool and walked over to her father.

"Your daughter?" Detective Carson asked confused. Christian nodded.

"Christian, do you think now is a good time?" Grace asked. "I don't think you're ready to talk about this. I don't think Phoebe is either."

"We'll be fine mom. Can you just watch the boys for a minute?" he pleaded with her. She sighed but nodded anyway, realising she needed to be strong for this whole family to help them through it. Christian scooped Phoebe into his arms and led detective Carson to his study where Sawyer and Marx were already seated in front of Christian's large desk. Christian sat in his chair, Phoebe in his lap and offered Carson the third chair in front of his desk. The police officer stood by the door even though Christian offered him a seat on the couch.

"Right, so was it just you four at the park yesterday at the time Mrs Grey was shot?" Carson asked.

"No. Luke and Phil were at the park with my wife and daughter. I was with my sons." Christian replied.

"Right. Do you mind if I talk to them, alone? I just need to establish what happened."

"You may speak to Luke and Phil alone, should you and they wish, but I will be present if you want to talk to Phoebe." Carson just nodded and understood. The girl was young after all.

"I don't mind talking in front of Mr Grey," Sawyer said. Christian was going to hear about what happened eventually so he might as well talk in front of him. Saves him repeating it all later. Marx agreed and decided to stay in the study.

"Ok, then. So where were you two when the gun went off?"

"Mrs Grey had instructed us to go back to the car. She and Miss Grey decided to go shopping and get ice cream as Miss Grey hadn't long been released from hospital and Marx and I were told to put the purchases in the car while they went for a short walk in the park." Sawyer said, trying to control his emotions. Marx took over.

"We had quite a lot of bags so it took some time to load it all up. Neither of us had realised Mrs Grey had gone further into the park than we originally thought she would. She was gone from our sight when we heard the gun. Then we heard Miss Grey scream as we were running towards the source of the sound. However, when we got there, Mrs Grey was lying on the ground bleeding with Miss Grey crying over her. The shooter was now where in sight."

"So neither of you actually saw the killer?" Carson asked. The officer by the door was rapidly scribbling notes down on his notepad. Sawyer and Marx shook their heads. Carson looked at Christian. "And you didn't get there until... When Mr. Grey?"

"As the police turned up. I ran over to find my wife lying on the grass, eyes closed, hole in her chest and my daughter crying hysterically next to her." Carson leaned forward and spoke to Phoebe.

"Phoebe, did you see anything yesterday about your mommy?" he asked gently. Phoebe was scared. She didn't know this man and her mommy wasn't there to protect her. Only daddy. She looked up to him and Christian nodded. She looked back to detective Carson.

"I saw mommy fall to the floor. There was tomato sauce on her chest," Phoebe always referred to blood as tomato sauce. It scared her less that way. "She whispered to me and went to sleep." Carson wanted to laugh gently at the ketchup reference but kept it hidden. The last thing the eight year old daughter of the most powerful man in Seattle, who had just witnessed her mother get shot, needed was a stranger to laugh at her terminology.

"Did you see the person who did that?" he asked. She only nodded. "Can you tell me what they look like?" she closed her eyes and tried to remember but he disappeared from her mind. She didn't have words to describe him and she started shaking. Christian felt this and held her close to his chest. However, Carson didn't seem to notice her shivering and asked, more forcefully, what the killer looked like.

"Detective!" Christian snapped when he asked a third time, nearly snapping at the poor child. "In case you haven't noticed my daughter is not in a fit state to answer your question. She doesn't seem to be able to tell you. I think you should leave and come back another day."

"Sir, if your daughter saw the person who killed your wife, then we need her to tell us what they looked like in order to catch him. You don't want us to arrest the wrong person do you?"

"Of course not, but interrogating my eight year old daughter, is not going to help!" Christian shouted and Phoebe screamed. He quickly calmed down and held her close, just as Grace entered.

"Everything alright?" she asked nervously. Christian nodded and kissed the top of Phoebe's head. He told the detective to leave and next time; send someone who knew how to talk to children. Grace walked over to where her son was sitting. "What happened?"

"That fucker started snapping at Phoebe all because she was too emotional to try and tell him about the fucking killer." Christian replied, his anger building.

"Daddy," Phoebe cried wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. He calmed again and wrapped his arms tighter around her.

"Shhh, its ok baby. Daddy didn't mean to shout." He rocked her gently from side to side before going back to his sons.

**... ... ...**

Even though Christian was a strong man, he still needed his mom over the next few days. Kate, Elliot, Mia, Carrick and Ava went home. Christian was finding it hard to cope with the kids as it was and having the house crowded was making it worse. Grace stayed and helped out looking after the boys and helped organise the funeral while Christian organised for Ray and Carla to fly down. He spent as much time with his children as possible, if it wasn't for them; he knew he would have gone into a serious depressive state. Ana wouldn't want that so he was grateful he still had them. They all looked like Ana and were the only thing left of her that he could cherish. Although, naturally, he was concerned about Phoebe. No child should see what she saw, no matter what.

Ray and Carla arrived a week after the death of their daughter. Carla couldn't stop crying the whole time she was there and held her grandchildren as close of possible, afraid they would be taken as well. Ray was his usual self, although showing more emotion than normal. Tears rolling down his cheeks as he embraced his grandchildren. Between him, Carla and Christian, they managed to plan and organize a funeral. Police arrived with a new detective, detective Binks who knew how to talk to children and managed to get some details from Phoebe about the grey-haired, dark eyed man who shot her mother. Phoebe was drawing and was encouraged to draw what the man looked like. It wasn't a lot, but detective Binks knew that must have been hard enough for Phoebe as it was and assured them it should be enough to see if there are any wanted criminals matching the description, but if Phoebe remembered anything to give her a ring.

Unfortunately, due to the police investigation, Ana's body was not given to the family in time for the funeral. Therefore, Christian, Ray and Carla decided to hold a memorial service for her and vowed to bury her together as soon as the police gave their permission. It happened sooner than they realised.

It was because the body had been examined thoroughly, and the type of bullet identified. With no other use for the body, the court ordered that she may be buried in peace. Christian was happy that they got to bury her together, but naturally miserable at the thought of having to bury his wife. His _more. _

The church the ceremony took place was full with friends, family, work colleagues and even people they had never met but were inspired by some of her work at Grey Publishing. Phoebe stayed by her father all through the ceremony, holding his hand tightly. Even when he stood up to give a speech about Ana, she stood with him, terrified to let go.

"I met Ana nearly eleven years ago, when she interviewed me for the student newspaper at Washington State University. I remember that day well. I will never forget how she fell through the door and saw her brilliant blue eyes for the first time. I was immediately attracted to her." He took a deep breath. "She turned my world upside down and showed me that there is light as well as dark in this world. She opened my eyes and turned me into the man I am today and given me four beautiful children. Without her in my life, I would still be the cold-hearted monster I've always been." His breath hitched as he tried to compose himself. "I honestly don't know how I was living before she stumbled into my life. I will never forget her. I will never forget that chestnut brown hair, crystal clear blue eyes or that bright smile. The bright smile that made me feel ecstatic that it was me that managed to put it on her face. The beautiful smile she passed to each of our children. We have some wonderful memories together, too many to share with you today. But one of my favourites is the look on her face when we touched down in London for our honeymoon. The one place she's wanted to visit her whole life. I planned on giving her the world and I hope in our short time together, I managed to do that for she gave me my world. She was everything to me and my family. But most importantly, she was my more."

With that, he stepped down and took his seat next to Grace while still holding Phoebe's hand. He let his tears fall, not caring who saw him anymore. She was too young, she still had her whole life ahead of her, but some prick took it all away.

He made a vow there and then; he would do everything he could to keep his children safe, more than he ever has. He would rather die than put his children in danger again. Phoebe was in his lap and hugging him tightly.

**... ... ...**

After the service all the guests went back to Christian's house where they all had a glass of champagne to celebrate Ana's life, however short it may have been. There were plenty of tears shed that day but Christian managed to stay strong. If not for him, for his babies. It wasn't until after most of the guests went home and Ray and Carla retired, Grace decided to bring up the delicate subject she had been thinking about for some time.

"Christian?" he looked up from his spot on the sofa, where he was watching his sons roll around on the floor, the younger ones laughing as they didn't understand mommy wasn't coming home. Phoebe was still curled up on his lap and sleeping softly with her head on his chest.

"Yes, mom?" he asked.

"I think we need to talk about Phoebe. You know that what she saw isn't going to be good for her."

"I know that. No child should see their mom like that." He was remembering his own childhood and how he spent four days with the crack whore before they were discovered. He was grateful that for Phoebe it wasn't like that.

"Stop it," Grace snapped. "What happened to your mother and Ana are not your fault, Christian. But where Phoebe's concerned I think she should talk to Dr Flynn. Or someone about what happened."

"No." He shot her down straight away. He was not going to subject his daughter to the life of shrinks and therapy. He wanted her to talk to him and allow him to help her. No-one else.

"Christian, I know you want to be the one to help her, but I think she will need professional help. As she gets older, she'll become confused and angry. You forget that I went through something similar with you."

"No, mom. I don't want people to start telling her how she should be feeling. It's confusing enough as it is for her at the moment, Flynn won't help her with that."

"What do you mean by that?"

"She's confused because her mother is gone. If she was to suddenly be going to talk to someone who wants her to talk about it, it will make her even more confused as to why she's there and she'll become angry. You forget mom that I was an angry child with all that therapy."

"But Flynn helps you." At this point Flynn had entered the living rom. He and Carrick had been talking in the kitchen about Christian and Phoebe.

"Christian, I think your mother is right. Phoebe will be even more confused if she doesn't talk to someone." The doctor said.

"She has me."

"But it won't be the same. She can only talk to you about certain things and there maybe things she won't want to talk to you about because she'll be afraid of your reaction."

"But, I don't want her to feel different from the other kids in school. I want her to feel that she's normal."

"She will, but she needs help understanding what happened, Christian." Grace added. Christian sighed and said he'll think about it. It wasn't a yes but it wasn't a no. With that he stood up, Phoebe still in his arms, and ordered the boys to go to bed. They did so without argument. After putting Phoebe to bed and ensuring the boys were ok, he saw Flynn out and offered his parents to stay for the night, which they accepted, knowing he still needs all the support they could possibly give.

**... ... ...**

A few days passed before Carla and Ray had to leave. Christian apologised for Ana again and again, though they both said it wasn't his fault. How could it be? He wasn't there. They held their grandchildren tightly before Carla gave her son-in-law a brief hug. Ray, a handshake. The children stood around their father waving good-bye to all their grandparents. Carrick and Grace had decided maybe it was time to leave and let the young family grieve in their own way. Phoebe was holding her father's free hand as he had James on his hip with his other arm supporting him. Teddy stood on Christians other side holding Nicks hand. Once their grandparents vanished down the driveway, they all returned to the living room and sit on the floor. Christian decided it was time to attempt to explain where Ana is.

"Kids. I want you to know that mommy isn't coming home." He started.

"Why?" Nick asked.

"Well, remember grandma Grace said she'd gone to heaven. It's a very special place everyone goes to but they don't get to come home."

"Well, why did mommy go then?" Nick asked, full of questions. Christian thought of how he was going to explain it. An idea popped into his head.

"Do you remember your favourite Disney movie, Nick?"

"Yes. The Lion King!"

"Well, do you remember Simba's daddy?"

"Yes. Mufassa. Why?"

"Yes. He went to heaven didn't he?"

"Yes. But he fell off that... erm... what's it called?" Nick thought hard for a moment before the right word came to him. "Cliff."

"Yes, that's right. And later on in the movie, he was able to guide Simba through all the bad stuff wasn't he?" all the children nodded. "Well, that's what mommy is going to do for you now. And she can only do that in heaven." They all nodded again. Christian felt slightly proud of himself for managing to find a comparison they would understand. "But listen to me. Just because mommy isn't here doesn't mean you get to stop being good. She will know and she wouldn't be happy if we all started misbehaving will she?" they shook their heads. "Ok. And we will never forget her will we? Because she will always be in our hearts. Right then, I think it's time for dinner." He said, leading them all into the kitchen ready for Mrs Taylors chicken pot pie.

**... ... ...**

**Please note that Christian acts the way he does because he's thinking of his children and he knew Ana wouldn't want him to give up on them. I know it doesn't seem likely because they were completely in love and in the books he talks about how he's nothing without her but I wanted to show how she's still with him through the children.**

**Also, I am sorry I killed Ana. But I was thinking she can still be in it, it will just be in the form of memories and dreams. But this story is mainly meant to be how would Christian cope in this circumstance.**

**Thanks for reviewing xD**

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	3. Chapter 3: Christian's Memories

**Hey guys! I've still been getting mixed reviews but it's more positive now so I have another chapter for you. I've had so many reviews and nearly half of them are about how tears have been shed. Just so you know that was not my intention but I'm glad I've managed to make it that powerful that I've been getting these reactions. **

**This chapter is kind of an extra bit of information about the moving on process, obviously showing some memories Christian and Ana had. I did originally have chapter 3 going straight to the ages each character is going to be for the main plot but I wanted to give an insight as to how Christian was coping. It's not the best chapter and it was written in about one day which is why it's not as good as other chapters. It's a 'sideline' chapter, not completely relevant to the story but still has some sort of important information. **

* * *

**Chapter 3: Christian's Memories**

_"You are a big softy Mr Grey!"_

_"Only when it comes to my children, Mrs Grey." _

_Anastasia laughed and curled into her husband's side more than she already was. They were curled up watching Disney movies with their children and after much begging from them; Christian had finally agreed to let them have lots of sweets and soda. _

_"Daddy! I'm hungry!" Teddy cried as Monster Inc finished. He and Phoebe had been lying on their stomachs, with empty bowls of popcorn and sweets all around them, for nearly six hours. It's the longest the seven and five year olds had ever sat still. _

"_Teddy, you can't still be hungry. You've just had three bowls of popcorn and sweets," Christian said wondering where his son was putting it all. _

"_No, Phoebe ate three bowls of poppy!"_

"_You had it too, Teddy bear," Ana said. She glanced at her watch. "I better go and get Nick up or he'll never sleep tonight."_

"_I can go." Christian offered._

"_No, I can manage a few stairs, thank you. You stay here and put on the next movie and try and calm your son. Though, no more sweets now or they'll never eat their dinner." She insisted climbing off the sofa and wandering out of the room. Christian noticed Phoebe's eyes were still glued to the television even though the movie was finished. _

"_Daddy, I'm still hungry!" Teddy shouted._

_"Teddy, we are not having any more food otherwise we won't eat dinner. So what shall we watch now?"_

_"Wall-E!" Ted screeched. Phoebe's eyes were still glued to the television._

_"Phoebe, what would you like to watch?" Christian asked, since Teddy had picked the last three movies. She shrugged her shoulders and stood up. He pulled her into his lap and kissed her forehead. "What's the matter princess?"_

_"My tummy hurts," she said. _

_"That's because you've had too many sweets. How about we just sit here and watch another movie?" he suggested and she just nodded and snuggled into his chest. "So are we watching Wall-E?"_

_"Yeah!" Ted said._

_"No," Phoebe said at the same time. _

_"No? What shall we watch then?"_

_"A bug's Life. I like princess Atta," she said quietly._

_"No, a bug life is stupid," Ted moaned. "Wall-E is much better."_

_"No, it's boring!" Phoebe moaned. _

_"Ted, you picked the last movie. It's Phoebe's turn," Christian said, moving Phoebe from his lap to the sofa so he can put the DVD in the player. When he had it loading, Ana appeared carrying a hyper two-year-old. For someone who had just woken up Nick was always a hyper young child. Ana struggled to control him and in the end just put him on the floor to run to his brother, sister and father. Once he was out of her arms she stood up straight and sat next to Phoebe on the sofa._

_"So what are we watching now?" she asked. _

_"We are watching 'A Bug's Life'. Phoebe's choice." Christian said, standing again to sit next to his wife, pulling his daughter back into his lap. Teddy settled back on the floor giving up his moaning about the movie choice and having more food. He knew once Christian, or in this case; Ana, made a decision, that was final. Nick was still running around. "Does that boy ever run out of energy?"_

"_Christian, he's just woken up from his nap. His body has recharged and ready to give you a run for your money." Ana winked. _

"_I think that's for mommy, actually."_

"_Ha! Not when I'm eight and a half months pregnant," she giggled. She suddenly sat up and reached for his hand. "Oh, he's kicking like crazy today. Feel." She placed his hand on her stomach. Phoebe leant over and put her hand on Ana's tummy too._

"_Wow, he is active today isn't he?" Christian said. Ana giggled and nodded. "I can't wait till he's here,"_

"_It's a shame we're not having another little girl."_

"_One day, Mrs Grey. We will have another daughter," he kissed her forehead. "I promise."_

"_Like me!" Phoebe added. _

"_Yes, like you my little princess," Ana said pulling her daughter into her lap and telling her husband to capture their two year old. Together they say and watched the movie. _

_Half an hour into it..._

"_Christian! Don't panic, but my water just broke!" Ana suddenly exclaimed. Christian's eyes widened and he jumped into action. Grace looked after the other three and Christian held his wife's hand. _

_Twelve hours later, he was holding his new son. He smiled. James looked absolutely perfect. But he still wished he could have another little girl. _

"_One day, Christian. We will have a daughter," Ana repeated his promise to her. _

_If only they could have kept that promise._

**... ... ...**

Christian woke with a start. _It was just a dream _he thought. _Ana's not really here._ He glanced at the clock and saw it was nearly six in the morning. Roughly the time James was born. Knowing he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, he decided to get out of bed. He thought he could hear voices in the hall but became convinced it was his imagination, until he heard the familiar scream.

Climbing out of bed he went down to Phoebe's room and found her sitting up in bed with her arms wrapped around her legs, rocking slightly. It had been five years since she witnessed that horrific event and she still wasn't coping. He had decided not to send her to Flynn because he didn't want her to feel different but now he was thinking, can he cope with her nightmares anymore?

"Phoebe, calm down. Daddy's here," he said wrapping his arms around her and rocking slightly. He kissed the top of her head a few times until she stopped crying. He's ask her about her dream but she'd not say anything and say she was fine. He'd stopped trying to get her to open up a little while back and lefty her to get ready for the day.

By the time she was downstairs, it was like her dreams never happened. Though the family knew otherwise but they never mentioned anything. She didn't need the constant reminders.

She saw Gail making pancakes and had a couple when they were offered as she made conversation with her brothers. Christian entered the kitchen after his shower and smiled at the sight. He was so glad his children got along so well, but panicked when they would argue. He didn't know how to control them when they argue and sometimes he just snaps at them. In fact two years ago, Teddy, Phoebe and Nick were arguing so much he nearly sent them off to boarding school, just so he wouldn't have to deal with it anymore. Grace was the one to talk sense into him, claiming that's not what Ana would want.

"Phoebe, why were you screaming again?" James asked suddenly. Phoebe tensed.

"Because I can," she said simply continuing to eat her breakfast.

"But, why were you screaming so loud?"

"Because I can," she repeated, sounding slightly frustrated.

"James, leave Phoebe alone! It's not her fault she's a wimp!" Nick said.

"I am not a wimp!" she shouted.

"Are too," James said.

"Boys, that's enough! Stop picking on your sister and go and get ready for school," Christian intervened. Phoebe stuck her tongue out as they passed her, which didn't go unnoticed by her father. "Phoebe, don't be horrible to your brothers. Are you all ready for school?"

"Yeah," she snapped. Why did James have to bring up the screaming? Now she was in a mood with her brothers and snappy at everyone.

"Don't start attitude with me, young lady, I only asked you a question."

"And I only gave you an answer." She said sweetly. He sighed.

"Phoebe, I think we should talk about these dreams,"

"No." She said simply, wishing he wouldn't go any further. She was wrong.

"You don't have to talk to me. Phoebe I think you need professional help. Your grandmother was right, I should've taken you to see Flynn years ago," he said the last part mainly to himself.

"I do not want to sit a stupid room for an hour talking about my feeling and mom. I'm fine dad, so just leave me alone!" She snapped walking away from the breakfast bar, bumping James' shoulder as she left the kitchen. Christian called after her but she ignored him. Once she was gone, he focused his attention on his youngest son.

"James, why did you ask Phoebe that question?"

"It was just a joke." James defended.

"And now, she's upset because of your stupidity." Christian snapped. "Is it too much to ask that you don't keep giving her reminders of what happened?"

"Well, how am I supposed to do that when I don't know what happened, dad? No one tells me anything around here!" James shouted.

"You don't need to know what happened, exactly James. Just don't ask your sister stupid questions!"

"Why won't anybody tell me? She was my mom too and I never knew her!"

"Don't be ridiculous, of course you knew her."

"No. I didn't. She died before I got the chance to!" that took Christian by surprise. James was three but Ana was always there for him. He would always cry for her more than Christian and yet he remembers nothing about it? Christian said nothing and walked out of the house, telling security to make sure his children get to school safely and on time.

He still wondered what life would be like if he and Ana kept their promise of another daughter.

**... ... ...**

"_Shhh. Come stop your crying it'll be alright. Come take my hand, hold it tight. I will protect you from all around you. I will be here, don't you cry," Ana sang softly, trying to get her baby girl to sleep. She had been rocking her in her arms for over an hour and the newborn still wouldn't settle down. "Where is your daddy, Princess?" she asked her daughter, though not expecting an answer. _

"_Want me to take her?" Christian whispered, walking into the room._

"_When did you get home?" Ana asked checking her watch, realising he's home an hour earlier than planned._

"_About five minutes ago. My meeting ended way earlier than planned." He said wrapping his arms around her, kissing her temple. "Want me to take her?"_

"_Please," Ana said handing over the child. "I've been trying to get her to settle for over an hour." Once Phoebe was in her father's arms, she gradually started to calm. _

"_Ahh, she just wanted her daddy before going to bed." He said. Ana smiled and exited the room, dragging herself towards her own bedroom. She was beyond exhausted. In fact she was so tired, she didn't even bother to undress and get changed. She just fell on the bed, face down, and closed her eyes._

_Once Phoebe was finally settled and Teddy had been checked on, Christian went to find his wife. It was quite late, he was surprised at how late Phoebe had fallen asleep. When he opened their bedroom door, he smiled at the sight of his wife. Lying on her side, facing the centre of the bed, fully dressed, fast asleep. Her chestnut hair fanned out behind her, some falling across her face. She looked so perfect and absolutely stunning._

_Realizing she must have been over exhausted, he left her as she was. He didn't want to risk waking her by undressing her, so he just climbed into bed next to her and held her in his arms. Soon enough, he was also asleep. _

**... ... ...**

"GET OUT OF MY ROOM!" Phoebe screamed, waking Christian. Glancing at his clock, he saw it was ten in the morning. He never sleeps in that late on a Saturday. He didn't have time to think on it as Phoebe was shouting again. "GET OUT!" sighing, he got out of bed. That was not the first time he was woken by Phoebe shouting at one of her brothers and it wasn't the first time a pleasant dream about Ana had been interrupted.

Opening the door, he saw James and Nick running as fast as they could along the hall followed by a very angry looking Phoebe.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?" he roared. All three froze. Nick and James were looking at each other and their father. Phoebe kept her eyes on her feet, which suddenly became very interesting. "Well?"

"Nick and James were in my room," Phoebe said.

"What were you two doing in her room?"

"Nothing," they said together.

"Liars! You were going through my stuff," Phoebe snapped.

"No we weren't!" Nick snapped, which annoyed Phoebe so she started chasing them again. Christian tried to stop them but couldn't and soon lost his temper.

"SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN. _**NOW!"**_ they did as they were told. "Right then, let's calmly talk about what's going on."

"We were only looking for a box of photos of mom," Nick said. "Phoebe said she had some so we wanted to see."

"That still doesn't give you a right to go through my stuff. And you were reading my diary!" Phoebe snapped.

"Is that true?" Christian questioned. Both the boys shook their heads and Phoebe sighed. "Phoebe, calm down."

"Calm down? They go through my stuff all the time and you do nothing to stop it!" she snapped.

"What do you think I'm doing now?"

"Asking what's going on, but you're going to believe them, like you always do!"

"That's not true."

"Yes it is. It's because I'm a girl isn't it? My feelings and opinions count for nothing!" she snapped. She suddenly stood up and stalked out of the room. He tried calling after her but she just turned back and spoke to her brothers. "That box is in my closet on the top shelf. Feel free to go through my underwear while you're at it!" and she ran out of the room.

Christian found her later that afternoon, sitting in the long grass area of the meadow, where the family had enjoyed countless picnics when Ana was alive. He sat down next to her but said nothing.

"I'm sorry," she broke the silence with a whisper. He looked at her.

"For what?" he asked.

"For losing my temper. For the attitude. For everything," she said looking straight ahead. A tear ran down her cheek. "I'm sorry for not getting along better with the boys."

"They need to stop aggravating you. I've ground Nick and James and they won't be going in your room again. Though, I will ask for the box back so I can get some copies of the photos made up," he said gently. She nodded.

"Do you ever think of her?" she asked.

"Every day. She's in my dreams."

"She's in mine too, though it's a constant repeat of what happened." She took a deep breath. "I miss her, dad. So much." She started sobbing. He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close.

"I know. I miss her, too. But, we're doing ok, aren't we? Ignoring the arguments here and there," she giggled.

"She wouldn't be happy about it. I guess it's one way to keep her in my thoughts, even if it's the disappointment I see on her face."

"Hey, stop that. It's true she wouldn't want these arguments to continue, but there would never be disappointment on her face. And there are other ways to keep her in your thoughts. We have her pictures up everywhere. You come out here and sit in her favourite spot all the time."

"It's the only way I can think of to stay close to her." She wiped some tears and sat up straight. "Dad? I think you're right about Dr Flynn."

"Really? You're not just saying that?"

"No, I really think I need help. It's been five years and I can't control my feelings or the dreams anymore." He kissed her forehead.

"Ok. If you think you're ready then we'll go see Flynn. I'll make an appointment for tonight, or tomorrow."

"Thank dad. Where are the boys? I want to apologize for shouting at them." Christian nodded towards the house. She stood and ran inside. Christian smiled after her and an idea popped into his head.

**... ... ...**

_Nick jumped off the bed to hug his father. Christian looked at the TV screen and then to his daughter. "Again?" he asked and she nodded happily. They were watching 'Happy Feet Two'_

_"Erik is so cute, daddy!" she said. _

_"Would you like to join us daddy?" Ana asked, laughing. Christian just nodded and walked over to slide onto the bed, moving Phoebe so he could sit behind her and had her sit between his legs. Ana snuggled up next to him, James in her lap with Teddy and Nick lying on their tummy's on top of the duvet while they all watched Erik slip and land head first in the ice. The boys started laughing when he started to pee and couldn't stop but Phoebe just quoted Bo saying; "It's not funny!"_

_When the song 'Bridge of Light' came on, Ana started to sing quietly to her babies. _

_**"That's when you can build a bridge of light,  
That's what turns the wrong so right  
That's when you can't give up the fight**_

_**That's when love turns night time into day,**_  
_**That's when loneliness goes away,**_  
_**That's why you gotta be strong tonight,**_  
_**Only love can build us a bridge of light."**_

_Phoebe smiled at her mommy and leaned up to kiss her cheek. She loved listening to her sing and decided to join in. Christian smiled and closed his eyes listening to his girls singing, beautifully. When they finished they just giggled and continued to watch the movie. _

"_And you once told me you couldn't sing," Christian said once they were in bed that night. _

"_I never thought I could. Though our children seem to think otherwise."_

"_I would have to agree with them." He kissed her lips, softly. "You are so beautiful,"_

"_So you keep telling me. I still can't see the attraction."_

"_Stop that, or you'll go over my knee," he warned. She smiled at him, an idea popping into her head. "Ana!" he warned, though his voice was soft. _

"_Ok, how about some vanilla?"_

"_That sounds like a good idea." _

_She wrapped her arms around his neck as he climbed on top of her and kissed him. God, she loved this man. Soon their clothes were off and he was moving inside her. She moaned, enjoying the sensation. Her bracelet jingled as they moved together, in sync with one another. They had gotten to know each other's bodies very well over the eleven years they had been together. _

_Suddenly, Ana sat up in pain, her hand on her chest. _

"_Ana, what's the matter?"_

"_It's him. He's coming," she whispered holding out her hand to him. He could see the blood on her chest and he knew he could do nothing stop it. She fell down again, eyes closed, body limp. He had tears in his eyes and they dripped onto her beautiful face. He pulled her up and held her close to his chest, rocking slightly. _

_Something sparkling shone in his eye. He looked towards the source and knew what to do._

_She always managed to guide him through._

**... ... ...**

He found his children sitting in the lounge playing the Disney version of Monopoly. He smiled. They hadn't had an argument in three months, since Phoebe started seeing Flynn and Claude. She had found a way to channel her anger through kickboxing and throwing punches at the punch bag in their home gym. He hated to interrupt them when they're getting along but he needed to do this before he changed his mind.

"Phoebe? Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Yeah, sure. I'm bankrupt anyway," she said leaving the boys to finish off. He led her out of the living room and into his office where he sat her on the couch in there and sat down next to her.

"Phoebe, I know you've had a tough time since your mom... you know," he started and she nodded. "I just want you to know I'm proud of how you've coped these last three months or so. Proud of how you've coped altogether. Your mother would be proud to," she nodded.

"Thanks dad. Flynn's really helped me. And thanks for letting me use the gym. The punch bag is much better to attack than my brothers," she said, causing Christian to chuckle a little. Looking up at her he pulled the red box out from behind his back and handed it to her.

"This is for you," he said as she stared at the box that had _Cartier _written on the top. She looked up at him in question and he nodded. She opened it. "She would have wanted you to have it and I think it might help you keep her closer to you when you're not at home surrounded by pictures or at her grave." Phoebe had tears in her eyes.

"Thank you, daddy. I'll look after it, I promise." She said looking down at Ana's charm bracelet. She took it out and held it to her father, "Can you help me?" he nodded and fastened it around her left wrist.

He explained each charm to her but he'd taken the ice cream charm off, not wanting to explain that she was the first woman he'd made love to while every other woman he'd been with was just fucking. He opened the locket and she saw there was a picture of her parents on their wedding day. She knew he had changed it because Ana told her once she only kept a picture of Christian in it. She also noticed that he had added an 'A' charm next to the 'C' to make it more personal to remembering her mother.

Once he'd finished talking she stood and hugged him, thanking him over and over for the special gift.

**... ... ...**

**What do you guys think of my idea of Christian giving Phoebe Ana's bracelet? I've been toying with the idea so I'd love to hear thoughts. **

**I am also aware I haven't mentioned anything on the killer. That will be coming up over the next few chapters so please be patient. **

**I'm at my cousins wedding this weekend so I might not be able to update until Monday, but if I get time on Friday I shal do it then**

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	4. Chapter 4: 10 Years Later

**Been getting plenty of reviews asking for more. We aim to please so here you go. This is set some time after Chapter three. 10 years after Ana dies to be specific.**

**PLEASE NOTE (IMPORTANT): I've been getting reviews expressing thoughts about Christian moving on. Christian is NOT going to have another wife or girlfriend. I have been toying with the idea of evil step-mother but have decided not to. He may be tempted to take on a new sub but that would be because the woman looks like Ana but I haven't decided if I will do that yet or not. But please not THERE WILL BE NO OTHER WOMAN IN CHRISTIAN'S LIFE. So no need to worry.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: 10 Years Later**

Nearly 10 years have passed since the death of Anastasia Grey. The family was never the same again but they somehow managed to cope. Christian was surprised at how he managed to bring up his four children on his own without ever marrying again or accepting help from anyone. Occasionally his mother would help out by looking after them in the evening, but the majority of their upbringing was done single-handed. He was never interested in re-marrying. He never even took a sub again. It was only ever Anastasia for him and he has kept her in his heart for those ten painful years of living without her. He wore on a gold chain around his neck with the ice cream charm from her bracelet, as a reminder of how she was the first and only woman to ever have the vanilla relationship. He kept her rings locked up in her jewellery box.

His babies, they're not babies anymore, were so much like her, it was like she was never gone. They all had her sweet manners and good qualities. They have her chestnut hair or her crystal blue eyes. Teddy had her blue eyes, Nick had her chestnut hair, and James had her chestnut hair _and_ blue eyes whereas Phoebe had her facial structure and pale complexion. She had inherited her father's grey eyes and copper hair.

To say Christian was proud of his children would be an understatement. He had no words for how proud they make him feel. Teddy got into Harvard Law School and is really enjoying his life there with his girlfriend Sian. He has nearly finished his first year and Christian is happy that he has no desire to drop out like he did. Three years left before his son becomes a lawyer like his grandfather. Phoebe's nearly finished her Junior year in high school and is planning on going off to business school as she wants to work with him in his business. Though she's not sure whether to accept Harvard, like her brother, or stay close to Seattle. She has one year to decide. **(AN: I've looked up the schooling system in America and I'm sorry if it doesn't make any sense but I've tried.) **Nick starts his freshman year of High school in the fall and has decided, even though he won't be going for a few years, he wants to go to Washington State University, like his mother, and go into publishing. Christian could never bring himself to sell Grey Publishing so once Nick graduates, he will give it to his son. That's how prepared he is. James is only in 7th Grade so he doesn't need to worry about any of that yet. Though he has an interest in the human body and says he wants to be a doctor. However, science isn't his strongest point so everyone thinks it's a bit of a crazy dream but no one has the heart to tell him to give it up. He's only 12 after all.

At first Christian decided that he would not send Phoebe to talk to Dr Flynn, but as she hit her teenage years, she was becoming rather difficult to handle. Her behaviour was going downhill at school and her grades were terrible. She didn't get along with her brothers around the house and had a terrible attitude towards Christian. It took him time to realise that she was having nightmares about her mother and her death. She soon became depressed and Christian felt maybe it was time to get her professional help. Grace warned him about the teenage years but he refused to listen. Giving her Ana's bracelet also helped her with her reovery.

The summer wasn't very eventful. They all got to know Teddy's new girlfriend, Sian and had a lot of family dinners before he went back to college. Phoebe spent a lot of time working with her father in his office, learning and understanding the company before her senior year of High school. Nick spent a lot of his time reading fiction and James reading his science text books. It was a peaceful, relaxing summer and everyone was upset to be going back to school.

On her first day of senior year, Phoebe met with her best friend and cousin, Ava, before they walked through the gates. They greeted each other with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. They grew up together and loved each other like sisters. Even though Ava had three younger sisters, Phoebe was like the very close sister she never had.

"Hey. How are you this morning?" Ava asked her cousin.

"Tired. Very tired. Didn't sleep well last night." Phoebe replied. She's had another nightmare about Ana, but she wasn't going to tell Ava that.

"How come?" Ava questioned. Phoebe shrugged her shoulders.

"Don't know. I guess it's just one of those things." Ava nodded but said nothing else. "So you ready for the maths test?" Ava sighed and grunted. She hated math almost as much as Phoebe hated English, and Phoebe really hated English.

"Hey did you hear there's a new kid starting today?" Ava suddenly asked.

"No, I didn't. What's so special about a new kid anyway?"

"Well, apparently, Kathy said he'd moved into the house across the road from her and said he's starting at our school for our final year before going off to college. She says he's quite good-looking. And single."

"Why would I care?" Phoebe asked pleading it wasn't what she thought it was.

"Think about it, Bee. You're single and good-looking. Apparently _he's_ single and good-looking. You could make a cute couple."

"Except, _you've_ never seen him, _I've_ never seen him so we don't know anything _about _him. My version of good-looking is completely different to Kathy's version of good-looking. And for the hundredth time, Ava, I'm not interested in boys at the moment. Just let me do my own thing." Ava sighed but said nothing else on the matter as they walked into the school building.

Registration was boring. Phoebe and Ava sat at the back of the classroom with their friend Callie and Ava's boyfriend Robin. Mrs Feshbach entered and apologised for being late. She was showing the new kid around briefly.

"Everyone, this is Eric Johnston. He's just moved here from Savannah. That's why he seems to be a bit tanned." The class laughed at her terrible joke, if that's what you can call it, to avoid the death glare. "Eric you can take the spare seat in the middle, next to Zac." She pointed to the row in front of Phoebe and Ava, who were muttering to each other.

"So, do you wanna come round for karaoke tonight?" Ava whispered.

"Ava, I've told you. I can't tonight; I promised James I'd help him out with his science homework tonight. Anyway, you know I don't do karaoke anymore." Phoebe whispered back.

"Bee, you haven't done karaoke in years. Just one song?"

"No. Anyway, karaoke's for little children nowadays isn't it?" Ava gasped in mock shock.

"Karaoke for little children? Never." They started giggling. "Can't you help James out another night? I won't make you sing, I just want you to be there and laugh at Jenny, Josie and Joanna."

"Laughing at your eight year old sisters? That's not very nice, Ava. You know I would but I honestly promised James I'd help tonight. Then I'm going to- you know." Ava nodded in understanding.

"Oh yeah. Sorry, I forgot. Want some company? I can tell everyone we can hang out another night."

"No, honestly, don't cancel karaoke night. I'll be fine. Gone on my own plenty of times before." Phoebe replied. Robin and Callie, who had been having their own conversation, decided to join in.

"What're you two whispering about?" Robin asked. They said nothing and all but Phoebe were talking about karaoke night at Ava's house. Nearly all of their form were going round Ava's to embarrass themselves.

After registration they went to math taught by Mr Collins, a middle-aged man who had a passion for teaching and learning. Phoebe got through their test quickly with half an hour left over. Ava on the other hand struggled. Math was her weakest subject, but she wanted to be a journalist like her mother anyway.

"Right, class. Don't forget that tomorrow's lesson is cancelled as I have a meeting, so you have an extra day to get your homework done." Mr Collins said as they were packing up for the end of the lesson. Most of the class were cheering as they walked out of the classroom but others just didn't care either way. There was a ten minute break so Phoebe and Ava went to their lockers, which happened to be right next to each other.

"So, Bee, are you able to help out the group by filling in for Kathy?" Ava asked. She was in a band with Robin, Callie, Kathy and Zac. They had all known each other since kindergarten and found, even at such a young age, they all loved music. Phoebe was one of them but that changed when she was about eight or nine. Every year the school put on a music recital to welcome everyone back and at the end of the year to say good-bye to those leaving. Kathy was the piano player in their group, but unfortunately, her grandmother died and her funeral was the same day as the music recital. No-one else played the piano and Phoebe was the only one in the school who would know how to play the song. However, she hadn't played in a long time.

"I don't know, Ava. You know I would help but I don't think I can. I haven't played in years."

"So? Get your dad to sort you out some refresher course or something. We need the piano to make it work and you're the only one who knows it." Ava was begging... almost.

"But you know how I feel about music." Phoebe snapped. Ava sighed and slammed her locker shut. Phoebe had changed over the years; her opinion of music had changed. Phoebe slammed her locker shut as well. Ava hasn't stopped pestering her about taking part in anything musical, even though Phoebe has shown no interest in it. "Anyway, do you want some help with math? I saw you struggling during the test."

"Really? That would be great, thanks Bee! And, if you want, I could help you out with your English work?" Ava suggested. Phoebe smiled and agreed, glad to move away from the music conversation. "I better get off to history, then. I'll see you at lunch?" Phoebe nodded and headed off to her art class. She couldn't stand history either.

At the end of the last term, the students had started a new project, 'Family' or 'Something Precious'. Phoebe managed to do a mixture of both, focusing on her family as being that precious something in her life. She'd spent the summer gathering and taking photographs of her family when they went out or when they were just chilling out in the backyard of one of the many houses they all lived in. She even found some old photos of Ana she was planning on using. Taking them out of her bag, she started thinking about how she could use them. Maybe do some sketches then build up to painting? Or use her love of reading and make a book based on these memories? Maybe not, that sounds more like a scrap book and she'd already done one of them.

"Wow, Phoebe!" Miss Goble said, walking past. "You've been busy over the summer." She sat down next to her and quizzed her about her ideas. Phoebe told her. "I like the sketching idea and then experimenting with painting and other techniques. You could use a variety of colours on each or use different shades of one colour in one picture." Phoebe nodded in understanding. "Have you done any sketching? Or is that something you didn't manage to do?"

"No, I've got some sketches. I don't think they're very good, but I have done some." Phoebe said taking her sketches out of her bag. "They're not all mine though. Some of them are what my mom drew when I was younger. I was going to see if I was able to mimic her technique."

"These are good Phoebe. Really good. I think, maybe we can photocopy these larger and you could do some painting on them."

"Sounds great, Miss." With that Miss Goble went off to see what other students had done over the summer. Phoebe was just getting out the watercolour paints, after photocopying her sketches, when she noticed Eric walking into the room.

Miss Goble wasn't too happy having a new student start in her class when they had done so much work from the previous year but accepted him anyway. She told him she'd him do some catching up, though luckily they'd not long started the new topic, and told him to sit next to Phoebe, where the only spare seat in the class was. Once he sat down, Phoebe got a better look of him. He had brown hair, a chestnut brown, which curved around his face. His thin pink lips were curved into a small smile and his nose was as normal as a nose is. The only thing that doesn't remind Phoebe of her mom was the chocolate brown eyes, twinkling under the classroom lights. Before he noticed her staring, she got back to her work.

"Hi," he said when he was seated comfortably. "I'm Eric." He held out his hand. She shook it.

"I know. I was in the classroom when Mrs Feshbach introduced you." She replied.

"What's your name?" he asked. She sighed and told him. It's not like it did any harm. He smiled at her. "Phoebe. It's a nice name." She thanked him and turned back to her work. However, he peered over her shoulder to look at the sketches. "They're good. Did you draw them?"

"Some of them. My mom drew some as well."

"They're good."

"You've just said that." She snapped.

"That means that they're really good then." He looked at the photos. "This your family?" she nodded. "You all look happy. Is everyone in these pictures your family?"

"Yes. There's a few of us." She said looking at the family photo of everyone on their last day before Teddy went back to college. Eric saw Ava and Phoebe together in one picture and asked about Ava, saying he saw her around earlier. "That's Ava. She's my cousin and kind of like the sister I never had."

"So, how many cousins do you have? Or are all the others your siblings?" he tried a joke but she didn't find it funny.

"I have six cousins." She held up a photo of Kate and Elliot with their girls. "There's Ava, next to my Aunt Kate. The three little girls sitting with my uncle are Jenny, Josie and Joanna. They're eight year old triplets and a right pain in the backside sometimes." She picked up a picture of Mia. "This is my aunt Mia. She's with Carrick and Emma. Carrick's nine and Emma's five. Carrick was named after my grandfather."

"Where's their dad?"

"Uncle Ethan he wasn't there, he was in Los Angeles most of the summer, taking care of some business or something." She didn't want to tell Eric the details of her life but she wanted him to leave her alone.

"What about your parents? You haven't showed me them." Sighing she picked up the photo of her and her family.

"This is me with my dad and my brothers. Teddy's the older one next to my dad. He's nineteen and gone off to Harvard Law. He wants to be a lawyer like my grandpa," she pointed to Teddy then to Nick. "This is Nick. He's fourteen and next to him is James who's just turned twelve." He nodded but crossed the line when he asked about her mother. "I don't talk about my mom. Only to say that she drew some of these pictures." Then she turned her back to him to start painting. However, he wanted to know more. He picked up a picture of the only woman Phoebe hadn't spoken about.

"Is this her?" he asked. She turned and snatched it off him.

"Don't touch that!" she snapped. Luckily she was saved by Miss Goble.

"So, Eric, you have a choice to do your artwork based on your family or based on something precious to you. OR, like Phoebe here, you can find a way to incorporate them." The teacher said.

"How did Phoebe do that?" Eric asked.

"My family is what's precious to me, so I use what's precious to them within my work." Phoebe said, before Miss Goble had a chance. She took her school tie off so she wouldn't end up dipping in the paint, even though she was only using watercolours.

"Phoebe's done a lot of work based around her family since doing art. But we have about half the class doing something that's precious to them. Kelly's based her work on different cultural jewellery her father brings back for her when he goes travelling. Jonas is focusing on his skateboarding; Johnny's been focusing on different cultures, Egyptian mainly, as he comes from a cultural background. So, you can base your work on anything, really."

"Cool. I'll write some ideas done then, shall I?" he asked. Miss Goble nodded and went to check on the other students. "So, what's your family like?" he asked Phoebe. She sighed and turned back to face him.

"They're my family. Like any family, we all have our fallouts but on the whole we're really close."

"You said your brother was at Harvard?"

"Yes. I miss him, really miss him. But he's happy where he is and he'll be home during the Christmas vacation."

"What about the rest of your family?" she hesitated. She just told him they were all close and they all miss Ted but didn't mention Ana. Thankfully, he finally chose to leave it alone and told her about his life, as per her request. "I live with my parents and I only have one sibling. Sammy's older than me; she's just finished college and getting married next May. She's going to be a teacher. Mom and dad are so proud of her."

"How come you moved up here?" Phoebe asked curious as to why the family would leave sunny Savannah to live in rainy Seattle.

"Dads business took off and it bought us here. Doing some sort of business with that Christian Grey bloke who lives here." Phoebe gave a small smile. She never told him her last name and he had no idea who she was to Christian. "Look, I know you find me annoying, I find myself annoying, but do you mind if I hang out with you at lunch? It's just, you're the first person to answer me when I'm talking." She sighed and nodded. _Jeez girl, you're sighing a lot today!_ "Great."

"Though I have one condition." He nodded. "Let me finish these paintings," he laughed and agreed, though they still had light conversation. Just a conversation where Phoebe was able to concentrate on her artwork.

When the lesson finished, Phoebe had managed to get nearly four pictures painted and updated her art book on what she had done. Miss Goble was pleased with her progress. Walking out of the lesson she saw Ava waiting for her, jumping excitedly.

"Hey, Bee!" she squealed. "Guess what?"

"You got an A in your mock exam," Phoebe answered. Ava's mouth dropped open. At the end of Junior year, all the teachers gave them a mock exam to test their understanding of the year and to use the summer to work on their weak points.

"How did you know?"

"Because you told me yesterday you were getting your results today and you were jumping happily. It's not rocket science to figure it out."

"Ooh, get you smarty pants." Ava grinned before looking at Eric over Phoebe's shoulder. Her mouth dropped open at seeing how gorgeous he actually was. Kathy was right about him being good-looking. Phoebe quickly whispered in her ear to not mention their last name. She wanted to see what he would think of them without knowing who they are.

"Eric, this is my cousin, Ava. Ava, this is Eric." She quickly introduced before they met with their friends in the lunch hall. Phoebe sat down and picked at her cheese wrap. Whenever she had a nightmare about her mom, she never managed to eat lunch the next day. Ava gave Robin a kiss before sitting down next to him. They introduced Eric but Kathy had to bring up a painful memory.

"Eric? As in Eric from the film 'Happy Feet Two'?" she asked laughing. Eric didn't understand to affect it had on Phoebe and laughed along.

"Kathy!" Ava snapped, giving her a knowing look. She looked at Phoebe and saw her eyes drop to her lap, ignoring what was being said. "Bee, you alright?" Phoebe looked up and nodded.

"Sorry, Bee," Kathy said. Phoebe just shrugged.

"Have I missed something?" Eric asked.

"Doesn't matter, mate," Robin said wrapping his arm around Ava's shoulders. No one said anything else on the subject and continued to eat their lunch. Then Ava got her iPad out and put some music on as they walked out onto the sports field.

"So, guys who do you wanna listen to?" she asked. Everyone was in disagreement at first until Ava put Rihanna on to shut everyone up. Kathy and Callie got up and started singing. Zac started banging on one of his folders, he was their drummer and Robin stood up pulling Ava into his arms to dance. Phoebe just sat and laughed, Eric sat down next to her.

"Do you sing?" he asked. She laughed again and shook her head.

"Me? No way, I haven't sung in years."

"How come?"

"Reasons," she didn't want to tell him she hadn't sung since she was eight years old. She'd only just met him after all. Luckily he didn't push her to tell him. She excused herself to go to the bathroom and on the way her cell rang. Looking at the screen she saw it was Teddy:

"Missing us already, brother dearest?" she said as she answered. "You only left a couple of weeks ago."

"I know, but I thought I'd quickly ring you in your lunch." He replied.

"Why?" she asked suspiciously.

"Is it a crime to want to talk to my little sister?"

"What have you done?"

"What makes you think I've done anything?"

"Because I know you, Ted. What's happened and how much is dad going to kill you?"

"Ok, first, Dad wouldn't kill me. Second, I've done nothing. I know I could have waited until tonight but I needed to talk to you. Sian told me that you were acting like you don't like her and she feels uncomfortable around you. Did anything happen while I was home between you?"

"She asked you not to say anything didn't she?"

"Why do you say that?"

"Because she's in a lesson and you have a free. Am I right?" she was right. "Ted, I'm sorry if she feels that way. I didn't mean to give off that vibe. But honestly? There's something about her I don't like. Or maybe it's because I'm not the only girl in your life now. But I didn't say anything to her."

"Ok, Bee. I'm sorry. I'll talk to her." After one more minute they hung up and Phoebe went to the toilet. When she was finished doing her business, she went back outside to join her friends. They were discussing the music recital and it made her want to throw up. Once lunch was finished she and Ava headed off to English. Even though Phoebe loved to read, not as much as Nick, English was her worst subject. She and Christian would often argue about her terrible grades in English but she could never seem to improve, no matter what she did. She just sat at the back of the class next to Ava, fiddling with her charm bracelet.

**... ... ...**

At the end of the school day, Phoebe was picked up by Sawyer outside the gates. Christian didn't let her drive her car to school, which she was sometimes grateful for. Trying to find a decent parking space is a pain and trying to get out of the parking lot is a challenge. Climbing in the back of the SUV she saw Nick and James bickering in the back seats. She gave Sawyer a confused look. Normally Christian would have Mason and Richards or Barrell and Jennings pick the boys up from school. That is one of the reasons why he hired two security guards for each of his children. Sawyer saw her look and explained that the other SUV had broken down and Taylor was getting someone to fix it as soon as possible so he had to pick the boys up as well. She nodded.

"What are you two bickering about?" she snapped when Nick hit her shoulder while squabbling with his brother.

"I said James could check out this new game on my phone but now he won't give it back," Nick explained. Phoebe leaned forward to look at her youngest brother.

"James, give him back his phone," she said.

"But he said I could play parking mania!" James whined. She sighed and took out her own iPhone.

"Here," she said unlocking it. "You can play on mine. I think I've unlocked more levels on parking mania anyway,"

"No, that was me." James said happily dumping Nick's iPhone on his lap and taking his sisters. It was only for twenty minutes until they were at their home on the sound so she didn't see any harm.

When they arrived home, James gave her back her phone and they all ran inside. They boys ran off to do their own thing while Phoebe took off her black coat and school shoes before slipping on her favourite grey bunny slippers and going into the kitchen where Gail was preparing dinner.

"Hi, Gail." She greeted. "Would you like some help?"

"No thank you dear. I'm fine, nearly finished anyway. How was school?" Mrs Taylor replied kindly. Phoebe shrugged and claimed it was alright and nothing special. "Your father said he was going to be home slightly later tonight. There was a last minute meeting he had to attend. Are you still going to go to-?"

"Yes," Phoebe interrupted.

"Ok, that's fine. He said he could pick you up once you were finished there if you want?" Phoebe nodded, accepting her father's offer even though he wasn't there. "Oh, Phoebe you're got paint on you uniform!" Gail suddenly said. Phoebe looked down and saw pink, blue, green, brown and other colours on her school shirt and black skirt. "Go get changed and I'll throw them through the wash," Gail wasn't angry; she spoke with a friendly tone. Phoebe nodded and went up to her bedroom.

Her bedroom was simple. Dark pink walls with one wall covered in silver wallpaper with pink roses on it. There was a small flat screen on the wall Christian allowed her to have when she was thirteen, to give her that sense of independence the whole family, and Flynn, said she needed to have. He allowed all his children to have a television when they became a teenager under the condition they are not to watch it during homework time, late at night or misbehave. She had a small white desk and pink swivel chair where she did her homework which was next to a chest of drawers used to store her large amount of make-up and other possessions. Her jewellery sat on top of this chest of drawers along with her sketches. She had a vast, double door, walk-in closet that housed her many clothes and shoes. There was also a shelf that she kept a box of old photographs on top of so they wouldn't get damaged. There was a full length mirror hanging on both the doors inside the closet so when she was checking what she looked like, she could see her back as well as her front. At the other end of the room was her large, white, double bed with her black and pink covers on top to fit with the black, white and pink theme she has. Next to her bed was a plain white table with two drawers, filled with her diary and nail varnish, with her alarm clock, lamp and picture of Ana on top.

Going into her closet, Phoebe took her black and grey dress with pink flowers off the hanger and a pair of black tights from one of the drawers. After picking up her black ankle boots and went into her bathroom stripping off her school uniform, dumping them in the laundry chute that went straight to washing room. She then slipped the dress on over her head, pulled on her tights and boots before taking the hair band out of her hair and re-doing her ponytail. She then went off to find James.

He was in the TV room arguing with Nick about what to watch. He wanted to watch 'The Big Bang Theory' while Nick wanted to watch a documentary about Shakespeare. She asked him if he wanted help with his science homework but he said maybe later. After telling him she was going out he told her not to bother helping him, not in a cruel way, and that he'd talk to someone in his class. She accepted his excuse and asked Marx, one of her three guards, to get ready to take her out.

Sitting in the back of the SUV with Marx and Ryan in the front, Phoebe wondered if going on her own really was a good idea. She pulled her black jacket tighter around her to attempt to stop the chill. Why was she panicking? She'd gone on her own plenty of times before. Maybe it's because it's so close to that time.

Marx pulled over and Ryan jumped out to open her door for her. Taking a deep breath, she got out of the car.

**... ... ...**

**Thank you all so much for the reviews. I hope you don't hate me for making you cry:**

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	5. Chapter 5: Memory Lane

**Oh, you must all think I'm a terrible human being for not updating sooner. I've been away without having my laptop so I wasn't able to update. But here it is now. Hopefully I'll update tomorrow as well, but no promises. **

* * *

**Chapter 5: Memory Lane**

"Listen Grey, I really think we could both benefit from this deal." Matthew Parker said, trying to negotiate a deal with Christian, who wasn't impressed with the proposal.

"At what cost? The loss of hundreds of jobs and creating more problems than resolving them." Christian snapped. Parker really didn't get the message on the note. He checked his watch for what felt like the hundredth time. It was getting late. The kids were home from school and he planned on spending the evening with them.

"Sometimes sacrifices have to be made." Parker continued.

"Yes, I understand that. But not when hundreds of jobs are at stake when there's no guaranteeing what your proposing will be successful."

"But, it's worth a try."

"Not for me. You may not understand but I know I have employees who have families and work very hard to keep them fed. If I start accepting deals that costs them those jobs, what kind of employer does that make me? Too many people in this world are starving and I am not going to be the cause of why my employees may become so. Re-evaluate those figures and if they improve, get back to me."

Parker wanted to merge his ship building company and Christian's company and create a bigger company that build the best ships in Seattle. However, the price of that was breaking down both their companies and merge them into one, causing many jobs to be lost at the expense of it all, without there being any sort of reassurance that it will be successful. Christian said nothing else and dismissed Parker, who looked thoroughly pissed off at being rejected. He slammed Christian's office door shut.

Once he was gone, Christian picked up his BlackBerry and rung Taylor, telling him to have the car ready in ten minutes. When he hung up, he quickly packed up all the files he needed to go through and put them in his briefcase. After staring at his picture of him and Ana on their wedding day and kissing her beautiful face, he left his office, telling Andrea to go home as she was working later than usual. Once in the back of the car he rang Sawyer who told him that Ryan and Marx had accompanied Phoebe and had been gone over an hour. He decided to pick her up on his way home.

**... ... ...**

After placing the fresh flowers on Ana's grave, Phoebe sat on the grass to wipe over the gravestone in an attempt to clean it of cobwebs and dirt. Once that was done, she crossed her legs and started talking to her.

It was Flynn's idea. Phoebe became an angry little girl who didn't know how to cope with what she saw, so Flynn had suggested that whenever she goes to visit Ana's grave, just sit and talk as if she wasn't dead. It was Phoebe's way of recovering, letting things out and a way to help her feel close to her mom. Ana would always be in her heart but she swore that by talking to her grave, she could sometimes hear responses, which were most likely voices from town carried over by the wind.

She visited Ana's grave at least once every two weeks. She wanted to visit every week but Christian thought it would be too much for her and she needed to pull herself away slightly, before her obsession overtook her. She told Ana about how she'd started her senior year and how she wanted to go into business with Christian after college. She also mentioned that she hadn't decided which college to go to. She talked about how Ted was getting on and also about Nick, James and Christian. She even mentioned how Taylor and Gail were getting on.

"I showed Miss Goble my sketches and even some of yours. She said they were really good and she liked them. All of them. Even yours, mom. I'm still not doing well in English. I don't know why, though. I love reading and writing but Mr Jackman says that's not what it's all about. It's more than that. He gave me an F from our practise exam at the end of last year. I haven't told dad yet, but I know he'll be angry and disappointed."

Silence.

"A new kid started today. Moved here from Savannah apparently. I wonder if he knows Granny Carla? Be quite amusing if he did, wouldn't it? His names Eric. Kathy mentioned 'Happy Feet Two' earlier and it brought back some memories," a tear slipped down her cheek. "I haven't watched that movie in nearly ten years because it reminds me so much of you." She uncrossed her legs and pulled her knees to her chest, rocking slightly and let the tears fall silently. "I miss you, mommy. I just want you to come back." Next thing she knew, a familiar arm wrapped itself around her shoulders and held her in a tight one-armed hug.

"I miss her too, baby." Christian said. Phoebe turned to face him properly and wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head in his chest. Once the silent tears stopped falling she looked up to his face.

"Hi, daddy." She said, smiling.

"Hi, baby. You ready to go home?" he asked. She nodded and he helped her to her feet. It was nearly six o'clock. Where did the time go? She climbed into the back of the SUV, next to her father, and noticed Ryan and Marx get into the other car. It was just her, her father and Taylor in the car. She put her head on his shoulder and he put his arm around her. "How was school, munchkin?" she suddenly sat up.

"Dad, I'm not a munchkin anymore," she laughed. "School was alright. Ava was nagging at me about karaoke tonight and wants me to help out at the recital. She won't take no for an answer."

"She gets that from your Aunt Kate. If you don't want to take part, don't let her bully you into it, baby."

"I don't intend to. She knows how I feel, but she thinks it will make me feel happier."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I try to not understand Ava's trail of thoughts. New kid started today. He seems to be annoying." She laughed and he inquired why she thinks that. "He doesn't stop talking. He told me about his family when I wasn't that bothered then kept asking me about my family. He kept touching my pictures of everyone and then all my sketches."

"I hope you kept your mothers sketches safe. I only let you use them on the condition you look after them, remember." He turned serious. He knew she would look after them but he wanted reassurance. It's not like Ana could re-do them.

"Don't worry, I told him to leave them alone and he backed off. Though he did start to annoy me by constantly asking about mom even when I told him I don't want to talk about her." She put her head back on his shoulder and he kissed the top of her head, telling her not to worry about it. Twenty minutes later, they were home again and walked in to find Nick chasing James around angrily.

"James, give it back!" He shouted, catching the attention of Mason, Nick's guard who was in Taylor's office. However, the boys didn't pay any attention to any of the men in the entrance room and continued running around. Mason tried to catch Nick but wasn't fast enough. Christian didn't like that his sons seemed to be arguing and were running around the house. He decided it was time to step in.

"Enough!" he shouted. The immediately stopped running and looked at their father. "What is going on?"

"James went into my room and stole my phone again, knocking over my picture of mom," Nick said before James had a chance to speak.

"That's not true! You said I could go on your phone and you knocked that picture over." They started bickering again so Christian stepped in, again.

"James, give your brother back his phone, _now_." Christian snapped. James did as he was told. "Where's the photo of your mom?" he asked Nick. Nick claimed it was upstairs and the glass broke it, scraping away at the actual picture. After a quick examination, Christian ordered Taylor to go on his computer a print off a new picture before going to buy a new frame out of James' pocket money.

As he finished talking to Taylor, Mrs Taylor alerted him that dinner was ready. The small family sat down in the dining room and tucked into Gail's delicious lasagne. Phoebe had a vegetarian lasagne as she was a vegetarian, which Christian didn't approve of as it was making her skinnier that he'd like. James apologised for Nick's photo. Other than that, dinner was relatively quiet. By the time they'd all finished eating Taylor was back with the photo. Nick thanked him and went up to his bedroom to put it on his table next to his bed. Christian went off to his office to finish off some business. James finally got to watch some TV only to be told to go off and do his homework.

Phoebe was lying on her bed, having just finished her homework, talking to Ava on the phone. Most of their friends were still round hers for their karaoke night and she thought she heard Kathy in the background, but she wasn't sure.

"Gee, we're missing you over here Phoebe. J, J and J are missing you." Ava said, referring to her sisters. "Hang on. Not now Josie!" she snapped suddenly.

"What's wrong with Josie?"

"She wants to talk to you before Joanna and Jenny come over. You know I think they love you more than me," Ava replied pretending to be offended that her sisters favour their cousin more than her. The truth is, Phoebe's just nicer to them than Ava is but maybe that's because she doesn't see them every day so they don't get much of a chance to annoy the hell out of each other."Not now, Josie. _I'm_ talking to Phoebe."

"So, is Robin still there?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"I just thought you'd want to spend time singing with him, not talking to your cousin who you talk to everyday."

"He's busy singing at the moment. Can't you hear him?"

"I thought it was Kathy," they laughed. Phoebe checked her watch. "Go on, put Josie on before she goes to bed." It was nearly eight thirty which is when the triplets often go to bed. She heard shuffling before Josie's cute little voice sounded over the phone.

"Hello Phoebe!" she said.

"Hey, Josie. How are you, baby?" Phoebe said.

"I'm good. Been singing with Jo and Jenny tonight with Ava's friends. Why didn't you come over tonight, Fee?" she asked sweetly. Phoebe sighed.

"Well, I was busy this evening. And I don't like singing that much so there would be no point in me coming over." Josie accepted that answer though made Phoebe promise to visit soon as she hadn't been round in a while. After a couple of minutes, Phoebe said goodnight to her little cousin and then to Joanna and Jenny before Ava took the phone back. She offered one last time for Phoebe to join them but was turned down, yet again. They hung up and Phoebe thought she'd have a shower. Once she got out of the shower, she fired up her laptop and checked her facebook account. Nothing new, only a few game notifications.

Christian didn't know she had facebook. He wouldn't allow any of his children to have it, but Teddy and Phoebe set one up each secretly behind his back three years ago. They use it now to contact each other, though they tend to use Skype more than facebook. She also liked to look through her friend's photos as she didn't have many. She knew her father would go mad at her for having a facebook account but having hundreds of photos of her on it? She was sure he would have a coronary caused by anger. There were only a few photos of her messing with her friends, especially Ava. That what also what she was comfortable with; it's bad enough having the press on her back all the time with her father being who he is.

In the corner of the screen she saw a friend request. _Odd_, she thought, _I've added all my friends on here._ Unlike some of her other friends Phoebe only accepted people she knew for sure. Even, then it was only her friends she hangs out with all the time she accepted. Clicking on the people symbol, she saw it was from Eric. She hesitated. Did she really want to have him as friend on facebook when she hardly knew him? Deciding not to spend too long thinking about it, she accepted him and clicked on his profile. Like her, he had his privacy setting to the maximum, only friends could see what they were posting.

She looked through what pages he likes, there weren't that many, and found he had similar tastes to her. They both liked reading, hardly ever watched TV, except movies occasionally. They enjoyed similar subjects in school, though Eric had an big interest in music. He liked so many bands and solo artists on his profile. Like her father, he seemed to have an eclectic taste. While she tried to avoid music as much as she could. It only brought back memories.

After an hour of doing nothing on facebook, she shut her laptop down and went down to their library and curled up in one the reading Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice' one of her mother's favourite books. After a while her eyes started to close and when she looked at the clock it was nearly 11:30. But before she had a chance to move, her eyes got too heavy and she closed them.

**... ... ...**

"James? You awake?" Nick asked knocking on the door gently. James sat up on his bed, sleepily.

"What do you want? To tell me I can do something then change your mind and get me into trouble again." James snapped, laying back down and facing away from his bedroom door. Nick sighed.

"No. I wanted to say sorry for earlier. It wasn't your fault my picture got knocked over. I was just so upset I wanted someone to suffer." He replied, going to sit next to his younger brother on the bed. "Mom wouldn't be happy if I let you get into trouble when it was my fault." He handed James some money. James looked at it and asked what it was for. "For the frame. I should have replaced it not you. It was my fault. If I stopped teasing you by saying you could go on my phone then changing my mind quicker than dads mood," they laughed, "maybe it wouldn't have gotten knocked over." James took the money but gave back half of it.

"Nick, if I just gave you back your phone when you asked, you wouldn't have had to chase me and it wouldn't have gotten knocked over. I'll pay for half. No doubt Taylor bought an expensive frame for you." They laughed again. After a few minutes, James asked a question he's never really known the answer to. "What was mom like?" Nick froze. James was only three when she died and didn't remember her. Nick was five, but his memory was a bit fuzzy. However, he told him what he could remember.

"She was very beautiful. Kind, gentle. Her hair smelled nice, like strawberries. Her skin was always soft. She held us when we were upset, stroked our hair, kissed our forehead." Nick struggled to remember anything else. "I remember, about a week before she- before it happened. She took us out to town for ice cream as Phoebe was ill or something. We went into the toy store and we spent an hour playing with some of the toys. Mom was always there for us when we needed her."

"Do you think she's looking over us now?" James asked. Sometimes it was like he was still a small child who needed mommy, but she wasn't there.

"Yeah. She's in heaven looking down on us right now, wishing she could be here to see her children grow. But she's still with us," Nick put his hand on his heart. "She's in here," he said tapping his chest. He looked at the clock. It was gone eleven and he knew Christian would be up to check on them soon. "I better get back to bed. Night James."

"Night Nick."

**... ... ...**

At eleven, Christian had hung up the phone after spending half an hour going through business plans. They finally came to an agreement that suited them both, making more of a profit for both businesses. Glancing at the clock he realised it was late and he needed to make sure his children had taken themselves to bed. Standing from his chair he had a quick stretch and walked out of his office.

As he reached the top of the stairs and was walking along the hall he heard Nick and James talking quietly in James' room. He listened for a minute wondering who they were talking about.

"She was very beautiful. Kind, gentle. Her hair smelled nice, like strawberries. Her skin was always soft. She held us when we were upset, stroked our hair, kissed our forehead." _Ana_. They were talking about Ana. Nick continued talking about the trip to the toy store and ice cream before she died. He heard James ask about whether Nick thought she was looking over them.

"Yeah. She's in heaven looking down on us right now, wishing she could be here to see her children grow. But she's still with us," Christian was proud of his son. James never got to know Ana and Nick was telling him how perfect she was. It was then he realised the kids never talk to him about Ana. Was it because it was too painful for them or because they thought it was too painful for him? Or was it just because they're not bothered either way? No it couldn't be that, they adored their mother. He was snapped out of his thoughts when Nick exited James' bedroom.

"What were you doing?" Christian asked, suspiciously.

"Saying goodnight and apologized for earlier. It wasn't completely his fault what happened and I felt bad." Christian nodded and sent him off to bed but not before saying one last thing over his shoulder.

"Your mother is proud of you, Nick. Thank you for talking to James about her."

"You heard?" Christian nodded and sent his son to bed. When the door was shut he walked into Phoebe's bedroom. The lights were off but she wasn't in bed. He checked the bathroom but she wasn't in there. She wasn't in the closet. He started to panic.

"Phoebe?" he exited her room and ran downstairs to see if Taylor, Gail or anyone from security had seen her. No one had. He grabbed his BlackBerry from his office and rang her cell phone. He heard it ringing down the hall. Following the noise, he found his daughter curled up in an arm chair in the library with a book resting on her lap.

A tear formed in his eye.

If it wasn't for her coppery hair, he would have thought he was looking at Ana there, sleeping. Walking quietly over to her, he picked up the book. _'Pride and Prejudice?' Ana's favourite Austen novel._ He thought. Closing the book, he put it on the table next to the chair and scooped his daughter into his arms. She didn't stir, just slept as he carried her up to her bedroom and laid her down on the bed. He kissed her forehead and walked out before looking back at his princess when he reached the door.

After he closed the door he rang Taylor to tell him not to worry, he'd found Phoebe and now she was in bed. Yawning, he himself went to bed. He had another early start in the morning and he wasn't as young as he used to be.

**... ... ...**

"So what do you want on your ice cream?" she asked.

"Chocolate!" the eight-year old said happily.

"Again?" the child nodded.

Once they'd eaten their ice cream, mother and daughter went for a walk in the park. They were talking and laughing. After some time, the mother bent down to her daughters level. Her blue eyes turned cold.

"It's all your fault!" she snapped. "He was aiming for you, but you moved! It because of you this has happened,"

"NO!" the child cried. Her mother stood up again and the blood could be seen on her blouse. "Mommy?"

Anastasia turned away from her daughter, towards the man with the grey hair and dark eyes. His face was as clear as day and she saw the evil, white-toothed grin he was giving her as he raised the gun to point at her...

**... ... ...**

"Mom!" Phoebe shot up breathing heavily. Looking around the room she saw everything was as she'd left it last night before she went down to the library. _Hang on. I fell asleep in the library. How did I end up in bed? _The only conclusion she had was Christian must've found her and carried her to bed. She put her head in her hands and took a deep breath before realising her cheeks were tear-stained. Climbing out of bed, she realised it was gone three in the morning; she went into the bathroom to wash her face. As she did that she looked in the mirror.

She looked just like her mom, except for her hair and eye colour. If she were to dye her hair chestnut brown and close her eyes, people would think she was Ana. Which is what they all needed.

_Maybe it should have been me. Everyone would be happier if I weren't around and mom could have given dad another daughter. She was so special and loved by everyone. _

Her thoughts were over-taking her again. She needed them to stop, she needed peace, she needed to feel the pain her mom felt all those years ago. Taking her razor out of her cupboard above her sink she held it over her arm. She'd never been able to actually cut herself, before. The thought had never entered her mind before. She knew Christian would go mad if she did. However, tonight's dream was different, than every other night. She had dreamt about Ana dying continuously and seeing that man haunt her every night, but Ana had never blamed her for her death. Which is why she cut her arm with the razor, feeling the pain as her skin separated and the blood leaked out.

She regretted it immediately.

"Shit!" she cursed herself, grabbing some toilet paper and pressing it down on her wound before running the cold tap and shoving a hand towel under it before pushing that onto her arm. Tears sprang to her eyes again. When it stopped bleeding and she'd stopped crying, she exited the bathroom and climbed back into bed, though she refused to go back to sleep. Instead she fired up her laptop to play games on facebook that she wasn't able to get on her phone. Signing in, she saw that Eric was online and he must have seen her available as he started talking to her.

**ERIC: **hi Phoebe

She hesitated but decided to talk to someone.

**PHOEBE: **Hi Eric. You ok?**  
ERIC: **yeah thnx. u?

_Ugh! He uses text language. Great!_

**PHOEBE: **Yeah, I guess.  
**ERIC:** u guess? wats rong?  
**PHOEBE: **Had a nightmare and now I can't sleep. How come you're still up?  
**ERIC: **was just bout to log off and go 2 bed not long finished hmewrk wat was ur nightmare bout?**  
PHOEBE: **Nothing special. Don't really remember.  
**ERIC: **was it bout ur mom?**  
PHOEBE: **That's none of your business!  
**ERIC: **sorry, i was just curious thats all. But your defensive tone says it was**  
PHOEBE: **If you must know it was about my mom. But that doesn't mean I'm telling you details about it. Why did you think it was about my mom anyway?  
**ERIC: **cause you didnt talk bout her at skool and you got all defensive if i brought her up u told me u dont talk bout her to any1. put pieces 2gether somethings happened you dont like talking bout.**  
PHOEBE: **Do you always put your nose in other people's business?  
**ERIC: **sorry. ur the only friend I managed to make so far at skool and when you seemed upset I wanted to help u**  
PHOEBE: **I don't want help. Sorry Eric, but it's just one of those things I can't talk about.  
**ERIC: **ok, sorry**  
PHOEBE: **Stop apologizing. It's not your fault I'm fucked up  
**ERIC: **im sure ur not fucked up**  
PHOEBE: **Because you don't know me.  
**ERIC: **id like to change that**  
PHOEBE: **Weren't you going to bed?

She couldn't stop the smile that was spreading on her face. She didn't know this boy, yet she found he seemed to generally care.

**ERIC: **wanna get rid of me already? we aint long been talkin**  
PHOEBE: **I don't want you to miss out on sleep because of me ;)  
**ERIC: **lol! dont worry bout me ill be fine in skool 2morrow. u sure ur ok?**  
PHOEBE: **Eric if I wasn't, no offense, but you wouldn't be the first person I'd talk to. It would most likely be Ava, after much persuasion on her part. I'm a very private person.  
**ERIC: **yet u have a fb account?

Phoebe's mind went blank. Fb? That must be short for facebook.

**PHOEBE: **I only use my 'fb' account (as you call it) to talk to my friends without abusing my father's generous contract he's set up for my cell phone. That and to play certain games that don't have an iPhone app. If you were to go through my profile you will only see what other people have said about me and a very limited number of photos. I like my privacy so I won't go around telling my private affairs to a boy I only met about eighteen hours ago. No offense.  
**ERIC: **ok then but if u ever need a friend ill be ere ok?**  
PHOEBE: **Thanks Eric. It's nice to know I have a friend who won't judge me.

They spoke for a little longer before he went to bed. Phoebe checked her clock. It was nearly four o'clock. She would be going downstairs in about three hours for breakfast. She sighed and opened up her snooker game she'd started playing recently.

She didn't fall asleep at all for the rest of the night. At six o'clock she decided it was time to get out of bed. Since she had a shower last night, she just got dressed this morning. Taking out her clean uniform from her closet she quickly got dressed. Once she put on her black skirt she hunted for a pair of black tights. She slipped on her white shirt and left the top button undone before tying her hair into its usual ponytail, wrapping it into a bun. After picking up her black tie with red stripes and black blazer with the schools logo on the left breast pocket, she went downstairs to get some breakfast.

Gail wasn't up yet, so she helped herself to some Special K cereal as a part of her diet. Christian didn't want her on a diet because she was really skinny, but he stopped arguing about it because she was eating, which is all he asks of his children. Though he did wish she would put some weight on. She practically looked like a skeleton. Gail entered the kitchen when she was halfway through eating and felt guilty for not being there, even though Phoebe said it was fine. She was quite capable of getting a bowl of cereal.

She sat alone at the breakfast bar, reading some of her book, 'Kissed By An Angel' by Elizabeth Chandler. She loved that book when she was younger, along with her all time favourite 'Skulduggery Pleasant' by Derek Landy and even though she was getting older, she loved re-reading them. At seven o'clock, Christian appeared in the kitchen.

"Morning, Phoebe." He greeted kissing her forehead. "Sleep ok?"

"Yeah, thanks." She lied. "How about you?" he shrugged.

"I've had worse nights. No nightmares last night though," he smiled gently at his daughter. He didn't tell her he dreamt about Ana which is why he slept well. She always kept him calm, even though she was no longer there. He knew his daughter was fragile and she didn't need another reminder about Ana's death. He didn't know she constantly had nightmares about that horrible day.

"So, dad, you looking forward to a hard day at work?" she joked. He laughed.

"I suppose so. How about you? Looking forward to your second day of senior year?"

"No. I have English with Mr Jackman and he hates me, I'm sure of it."

"Why do you think he hates you?"

"Because he always puts me down about my work. I'm trying really hard, dad, but that doesn't seem to matter. And there's something else," she paused. "But you must promise me you won't get mad."

"The fact you're making me promise means I'm not going to like it and will want to get mad, doesn't it?" she nodded. "Ok. I promise to_ try_ not to get mad. That's the best I can do."

"We had a mock exam at the end of last year. I got an F and he gave me an evil smile as he handed that paper back." She looked at his face and saw he was physically trying to contain his anger. He knew Phoebe had trouble in English but he didn't know her teacher was practically picking on her. "Dad, calm down. It doesn't matter that much. Ava's going to start tutoring me and I'm going to help her with maths." He physically relaxed.

"I'm so glad you and Ava are so close," he stepped forward and kissed her forehead. Gail placed a cup of coffee and an omelette in front of him. Without hesitating, he dug in as Nick and James entered the kitchen. As they sat down, Gail placed a plate pancakes in front of them. It was their breakfast of choice every morning but Christian decided he wanted to change that as he thought they were starting to get unhealthy. "Gail, tomorrow morning, my sons will have some Special K or a bowl of Granola. They can choose which one but they are not to have pancakes." He said.

"What?" they said in unison.

"You've had pancakes every morning for breakfast for nearly ten years and it's making you unhealthy. I'm going to change that right now. Pancakes are for the weekend and special occasions only from now on." He held up his hand as they went to protest. "Don't argue or I'll ban them from this house completely." Phoebe just smiled which nearly turned into a fit of laughter when James glared at her. Christian saw her reaction and smiled also. "And, what are you laughing at, missy?" she burst into a fit of giggles and was unable to answer. He just laughed. "You know boys; I will never understand the women in this family."

Once her laughter calmed, Phoebe spoke up.

"It's just the way you said it and then James glared at me. It was funny." She said. Once everyone had eaten breakfast, Christian went to leave for work. As the broken SUV couldn't be repaired until Saturday at the earliest, he told the boys to go in the SUV with Phoebe. They moaned at the thought as it meant leaving early to get everyone to school on time. They asked why Phoebe couldn't take her own car and she just said that finding a parking space is a pain. Also, Christian wasn't comfortable with her taking her own car. Why he actually bought her the car, the boys wouldn't understand. She hardly ever drove it.

Choosing to ignore her brother comments, Phoebe just picked up her school bag and headed out the door, catching Christian before he left.

"Dad, am I going to have to go with them every morning this week and come home with them?" she asked.

"Yeah, sorry, Phoebe. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"Why did you get rid of the other SUV? It makes no sense to me." He just shrugged. "Ok, I'll go with it today but can I take my own car with me this week? I just can't handle their bickering every morning and evening for twenty minutes with nowhere to run."

"Phoebe, we've talked about this. I don't want you taking your car to school, it's too expensive."

"Ava takes her car to school." She argued. She left out the part where they could easily afford another car if the other students ruin hers. And it wasn't _that_ expensive. It was a light blue Mini Cooper Convertible that she'd had since she was sixteen but had only driven a handful of times. Christian let her drive Ana's old Saab once with the hope of giving it to her one day, but Phoebe had always wanted a Mini Convertible so daddy's little princess got what she wanted. "Ok, let's make a deal. Until the other SUV's fixed, if it's ok with Ava, Aunt Kate and Uncle El, I drive over to theirs and get a lift with Ava?" Christian considered it for a minute, before realising it was a good idea.

"Ok. As long as Kate and Elliot don't mind having your car there for the day then it's fine with me." He said. "Now, I've got to go. Parker wants another meeting today after I told him yesterday I wasn't going into business with him."

"Why not just say no to meeting him then?" he shrugged.

"I told him to re-evaluate his proposal and then I'd hear him out. But I don't believe he could have done it over night. I'll see you tonight. I take it you've got no plans?"

"Not as far as I know, unless I go round Ava's to study." She replied. He kissed her forehead and climbed into the back of his SUV with Taylor in the front. She turned to find Sawyer standing nearby. "Seriously?" she mumbled. She was outside her house, what harm would come to her there? At least the other two members of her security weren't there.

After she climbed in the SUV, Nick and James appeared. Bickering again. Sawyer got in the driver's seat, Ryan next to him, and drove off in the direction of school. Ryan, Sawyer and Marx always waited outside the school gates for her while she was in school. She'd always wondered if they ever got bored. _This is going to be a long twenty minutes_ she thought as Nick suddenly elbowed her trying to take something off James.

* * *

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	6. Chapter 6: Sticking Together

**This is a bit of a boring chapter. Not a lot happens but you need these kind of chapters to keep the story going. **

* * *

**Chapter 6: Sticking Together**

**Phoebe's School**

"Ava, you know how I'm like your favourite cousin in the whole world?" Phoebe asked sweetly once she got out of the car leaving her brothers to continue arguing.

"Yeah? What's up?" Ava asked suspiciously.

"The other SUV's broken down and it won't be fixed until Saturday at the earliest, meaning I have to travel with the boys." Phoebe started.

"So?" Ava smiled, realising where this was going.

"They are going through a phase where all they seem to do, is argue, and this morning, Nick elbowed me trying to snatch his phone off James again. If I drive over to yours in the morning can I get a lift with you in your car to school?" Ava started laughing.

"Of course you can. You know you don't need to ask though. I take it that means leaving your car at mine?" Phoebe nodded. "Should be fine. I'll ring mom at lunch and let her know. Do you even know how to drive anymore?"

"Vaguely," Phoebe laughed. "Thanks, babes. I owe you one,"

"I'm glad you said that. We still need a piano player for the recital next week." Ava smiled sweetly batting her eye lashes. Phoebe groaned. "Come on, Bee. _Please?_ You wrote the bloody music and you're the only one who'd be able to do it." Phoebe sighed. She was never going to hear the end of it.

"How many are you doing?"

"Two. The one you wrote and Christina Perri's 'A Thousand Years' Part 2. You know the duet version?" Phoebe held up her index finger.

"I will help with _one! _And I'm not doing any singing." She said, knowing Ava would have gotten her to do something sooner or later. She chose to go for sooner because the nagging was starting to frustrate her to the point where she wanted to give her cousin a slap around the face. Ava squealed giving Phoebe a bone-crushing hug.

"Yay! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she said. "I'll let the others know."

"I mean it, Ava!" Phoebe shouted after her as she ran towards the rest of the band. She rolled her eyes as she saw them jumping up and down excitedly. She went to walk over but was stopped by Eric.

"Hey, Phoebe." He greeted. She smiled.

"Morning, Eric. You alright?" she asked. He shrugged.

"Yeah thanks, you?"

"I'm fine," she answered.

"You sure? You know, after last night?" he asked anxiously.

"Eric, honestly, I'm fine. And like I said last night, if anything was wrong you wouldn't be the first person I'd talk to." She held up her hand before he could say anything else. "So mind your own business!" she snapped before walking off to join her friends. Ava asked her if she was ok and Phoebe just shrugged, ignoring Eric as he joined them.

**... ... ...**

**James Class**

"Ok, class. For our art lesson today, I thought we could focus on role models and people we look up to." Miss McGrath, James' art teacher, said. "They can be famous, non-famous, family. They can be dead or alive, but I want you to tell me, who do you look up to? And why are they special to you?" she explained. She gave the class a couple of minutes to think. "Ok, put your hands up, quietly, so you can tell us who that person is." She looked around the room and picked on some students. "Emily?"

"Taylor Swift!" the class gave a small cheer. Miss McGrath laughed. "Because I love music and she's really good."

"Ok, thank you Emily. Err, Jonny?"

"David Beckham, because he's just awesome." The class laughed again. A few other students gave names of singers and football players.

"Ok, Samantha? How about you?" Miss McGrath asked. Samantha was the quiet girl in the class and she was very shy. Nearly every time she answered a question in class everyone else laughed and she knew they would laugh at her answer, now. "Come on, Samantha. Don't be shy, who do you look up to?"

"My mom," she whispered. No one laughed like she feared. Instead they all agreed and most of those who mentioned singers and football players asked if they could change their answers. Miss McGrath smiled and looked over to James.

"How about you, James? Who do you look up to?" Jonny, who had a bad dislike for James, shouted out causing the whole class to laugh, except those few friends James had.

"Miss, he obviously looks up to his mom as well!" James froze. Jonny knew that James didn't have a mother so he purposely took the piss. After taking a deep breath James spoke up.

"Actually, I adore my mom. But I actually look up to my dad and my sister." He said. He was asked why. "Because, my dad brought me, my brothers and sister up alone while trying to run a business. And my sister because no matter what life throws at her, she gets through it without complaint... most of the time. She was the only girl growing up in a house with four boys, that couldn't have been easy." He said glaring at Jonny. Jonny can tease him all he wanted about his dead mother, but James was proud of where he comes from and even though he didn't know her much, he still loved and missed her.

"Thank you, James. Jonny, I want to talk to you after the lesson. Right who haven't we heard from?" Miss McGrath said. After everyone had said who they look up to, they were given instructions to make something relating to it. Whether it was drawing a picture of them or making a painting. Miss McGrath wanted to see what they could produce in twenty minutes. She went to check on James who didn't seem bothered by Jonny's rudeness, just chose to let it go over his head.

It's not the first time Jonny's been a prat and he was sure it wouldn't be the last. He decided to draw a picture of Phoebe, though art wasn't his strong point so her face was a little disfigured. Miss McGrath assured him it was fine and that his family would love it anyway. He just smiled and went back to drawing.

**... ... ...**

**Nick's Class**

"Nick? Can you tell me the answer please?" Mr Krill asked during an algebra lesson. He could see Nick wasn't paying much attention so he wanted to make an example of him. However, his plan backfired.

"A squared equals 8 and C equals 4." Nick said returning his attention back to his English book on his desk. Mr Krill looked at his answer sheet and realised he was right. He turned to write on the board what Nick had just said hearing a few snickers behind him. He turned.

"Just because my back is to you, does not mean you can laugh. Nick, I understand that you get the work but put your English work away. You can do that later in detention." Nick looked up and groaned. Christian would not be happy if he got detention again, for not paying attention in maths. He understood everything they were being taught and finished his work early and yet, Mr Krill still punished him because he caught up on other work while he waited for the rest of the class to catch up.

"What have I done, now sir?" he asked. "I told you the answer."

"You are in a maths lesson, Nick, not English. And this isn't the first time I've caught you doing something completely off task. You will be back in this classroom after school or I will ring your father." As he finished saying that, the lunch bell rang. Everyone but Nick walked out of the classroom. He went to talk to Mr Krill about this unfair detention he'd just been given.

"Sir, what have I really done to deserve a detention? I got every question right, and I finished my class work really fast."

"Nick, I'm not saying that you're misbehaving. You are a really bright boy and you're doing so well but your lack of concentration is starting to disrupt the class as I have to keep stopping to tell you to stop doing other class work. Make sure you are here at the end of the day." He said standing from his desk to leave the classroom. Nick sighed and stomped out, meeting with his friends on the field.

"Hey, Nick? Where'd you disappear to?" his girlfriend Rebecca asked.

"Asking Mr Krill what I actually done to deserve detention. My dad's going to fucking kill me when he finds out." He replied. She wrapped her arms around him.

"Don't worry. Just tell him Mr Krill gave it to you for no reason. I'm sure he'll understand."

"No offense, Rebecca, but you don't know my dad like I do. He hates it when we get into trouble then starts doubting his parenting skills. Ever since my mom died he's been even stricter and says we've all become difficult to handle."

"But you didn't do anything wrong, mate," his friend Josh added. "Just tell him Mr Krill gave you a detention even though you done everything he asked."

"Josh is right, babe. Just tell him the truth." Rebecca said. Nick just looked between his friends and nodded. Looking across the field he saw James, looking down. He excused himself and went to check on his brother.

"James? You alright?" he asked his younger sibling. James looked up and nodded. "What's wrong?" James sighed.

"Are we so different because we don't have a mom?"

"What? What's brought this on?"

"Jonny in my class has been joking and making fun of me because mom's dead. It's got me thinking, since everyone else in my class have moms to look up to, are we really so different."

"James, it doesn't matter that we don't have a mom. Yes, we may be different but we haven't lacked for parental role models. Don't let that dick get to you, bro. He's just jealous of who our family is." He smiled. James smiled back. "Listen, I'm going to be home late tonight. Doing some extra English work after school. Tell dad for me?" James nodded and didn't question his brother's excuse. Once they got that sorted, they went to their own set of friends and quietly ate their lunches.

**... ... ...**

**Christian's Work**

"I thought I told you last night, to re-evaluate those figures, Parker." Christian snapped. "I also told you not to come back unless they improved. These ones are worse than last night!"

"Last night's figures are the best we can get, Grey," Parker defended. "But this deal will most likely be successful so we can always re-hire."

Christian banged his fist on the table and stood up.

"And what about those families out of a job during that time?!" he shouted. "I have told you that I will not accept any deal that will severely impact my employees. So, thank you for stopping by and wasting my time. Now leave before I call security and have you forcibly removed from my building." He lowered his voice at the last sentence. Parker just glared and reluctantly stomped out of Mr Grey's office. Christian picked up his BlackBerry. "Taylor, I need you to escort Mr Parker out of the building." He hung up after hearing Taylor's short reply before getting on with his work. He checked the clock, it was nearly one o'clock. _Time for lunch_, he thought. However, as he went to stand up, his BlackBerry started to ring. Looking at the screen, he smiled as he saw his eldest sons name appear along with his picture. Answering, he sounded cheerful. "Ted."

"Hi, dad. How are you?"

"I'm fine thanks. Just about to go off for lunch. How are things with you?"

"Everything's great." Ted sounded nervous and Christian knew he wanted something.

"What have you done?"

"Dad, can I borrow some money?" Ted suddenly asked ignoring his father's question.

"Ted. What. Have. You. Done?" Christian asked slowly. Teddy sighed down the phone.

"I have done something stupid. I've been having problems with some ex-boyfriend of Sian's. He challenged me to a poker game and I lost, but I've got no money left over to give him."

"You've been gambling?" Christian asked angrily. Ted said nothing and Christian sighed. "How much?"

"Five thousand." Ted mumbled, embarrassed.

"FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS?!" he screeched. "Please tell me this is a prank."

"Sorry, dad."

"You're damn fucking right you're sorry!" Christian calmed and thought. After a few minutes he sighed. "If I transfer five thousand dollars over to you, I want your word that there is no more gambling going on. And you come home in all the holidays and work in my company to pay off this debt you've got yourself in." Ted readily agreed to his father's conditions of taking five thousand dollars. With nothing said, and his good mood sour, Christian slammed the phone down before accessing his son's bank account on his computer, depositing five thousand dollars in there. Normally, he wouldn't mind giving his children money, but when it's to pay off debts caused by gambling he got pissed off.

He couldn't wait to get his hands on his son.

**... ... ...**

**Teddy's Life**

Teddy checked his bank account and found the five thousand dollars his father deposited for him. After withdrawing it he went back to his shared apartment, where Sian was waiting. She was sitting on his bed, nervously. When she saw him, she smiled.

"Right. I have the money to pay off Carl and Vince," Ted said sitting next to her on his bed. "You ring your dad and let him know. I've also got money to pay off those outstanding bills he owes the bank." She nodded and hugged him, but he pushed her away so he could look at her directly in the eye. "Sian, I don't want Carl hanging over our relationship. I can't live with your father's habits either. He needs help, baby."

"I know he does, Ted. But how can I get him clean if he doesn't let me?" she asked.

"I don't know, but we need to find a way. I can't keep this from my father for long. He'll suspect something's up."

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him that I let your ex challenge me to a poker game and I lost. He transferred five thousand dollars for me but he doesn't know what it's really for. He doesn't know about your dad's drug problem and he doesn't know about your old drug habit. Take the two thousand to pay Vince and the fifteen hundred for Carl and I'll send the final fifteen hundred to the bank to cover the final bills. Then, we are going to get your dad help."

She smiled at her boyfriend, grateful for all his help. And grateful that he'd set her free. Carl was her ex-boyfriend who sold and took drugs. He was nice when she'd first met him but he'd started to use violence and trap her in a relationship with him, getting her high on drugs then using her as a prostitute to pay off this debt he'd purposely trapped her in. She'd met Ted and he helped her recover during that first year of Harvard together. What he didn't know was, she'd still get a fix every now and then.

"Sian, I want us to be happy. Is that what you want?" he asked. She smiled and nodded. He kissed her and before they knew it, they were laying naked on top of his sheets having some intimate time together. "I love you." He whispered.

"I love you, too."

When they re-dressed, Teddy thought he should let her know about his conversation with Phoebe. He wanted to be able to trust her to tell him the truth so he thought he should return the favour.

"I spoke to Phoebe, yesterday," he said as she poured herself a cup of tea. They were the only two people home as the other two housemates were out working. She froze.

"You, what?"

"I spoke to Phoebe. I felt bad about how you felt she was acting towards you this summer so I wanted to hear her side of it."

"Ted, I told you not to bother. She's suspicious of me which is understandable. I'm hiding my drug problem from your family."

"I know that," he stepped forward and rubbed her arms. "I just wanted to hear what she had to say. She apologizes for making you feel uncomfortable over the summer. It wasn't her intention. She's just finding it hard adjusting to my relationship status. She's been the only girl in my life since my mom died and we're really close. Don't let her get to you, baby. Ok?" she smiled and nodded before turning back to her cup to finish making her tea.

"I'm sure she'll get used to having me around. Especially if we're as serious as we've made them believe." She smirked. They were very serious in their relationship. He kissed her again. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I better go and ring my father and let him know the good news in our financial status. And I better ring Carl to let him know I've got his money. I honestly can't thank enough, Ted. Thank you."

"Just, don't reveal anything around my family. If my dad finds out he'd go ballistic. We have to keep this between us, baby. Promise me."

"I promise." She kissed him before grabbing her cell phone and ringing her father.

**... ... ...**

**Phoebe's School**

"Hey, Phoebe? Did you want a lift home, tonight?" Ava offered as they walked out of English, their final lesson for the day. "Or, you can come round mine and we can start our tutoring?"

"Thanks, Ava, but I promised my dad I'd be home early tonight. I'll get the SUV."

"Ok, then. Oh- I spoke to mom earlier and she said it's no problem leaving your car at ours. It's not like it'll be in the way, she and dad will be at work. And the girls see it as a bonus as you get to see them every morning and evening before heading off." They laughed at the thought.

"Ok, I'll be round tomorrow morning and we can start tutoring after school tomorrow."

"Sounds great. So tomorrow morning." Ava agreed unlocking her sleek, silver Porsche convertible and throwing her bag across onto the passenger seat. She turned and hugged her cousin before sliding into the driver's seat to easily access the roof settings, putting it down since it was a nice hot day. While the roof was going down she looked back to Phoebe. "Tell me again, why you don't drive your car?"

"Finding a car parking space is a bitch. Also apparently my car's too expensive." They started laughing. "I'm sure your Porsche cost more than my Mini."

"That's what I was thinking." Ava's cell started to ring. It was Kate. "Hang on a minute, Bee." She said answering her phone. "Mom?... Why?... Oh, ok then... sure, no problem. But don't forget I'm giving Phoebe a lift this week and possibly some of next week... Ok, bye," she sighed as she hung up.

"Problem?" Phoebe asked.

"No. Mom wants me to pick up the girls from school. I knew there was a reason she and dad got me the four seater Porsche." Rolling her eyes, she gave Phoebe another hug and they kissed each other's cheek in a sisterly way. "Anyway, I better run. See you in the morning," she said climbing in the front seat and turning on the ignition. She gracefully reversed out of her parking space and sped out the parking lot. Before Phoebe knew it, her cousin was out of sight, leaving her to wait for the SUV. Luckily, Sawyer was at the gate waiting with her so she wasn't alone.

"Hi, Sawyer." She greeted.

"Hello, Miss Grey. Are you ok?" he asked, kindly. She just nodded as an answer before asking about himself. He claimed to be fine as Ryan pulled up next to her. He had driven Marx home half an hour ago otherwise they wouldn't all fit in the car. It was just a precaution in case anything happened during the day that would require more than one guard to be present. She climbed in the back, while Sawyer took the front seat to find James, but no Nick. She didn't know where their guards were as they obviously weren't in the car with them.

"Where's Nick?" she asked.

"He's doing some extra English work after school, today." James said. She just nodded and took her phone out of her bag. She started texting Kathy about the music recital.

**Phoebe: **Hey, Kath. Gonna help out with the music recital as Ava won't shut up about it. Want to meet up at some point before so you can teach me? I just don't want to embarrass myself or the band. X

**Kathy: **Yeah, sure. When do you wanna meet? X

**Phoebe: **Whenever's convenient for you. X

**Kathy: **I'm free this weekend? X

**Phoebe: **Yeah sounds good to me. Shall I come to yours or do you want to come to mine? X

**Kathy:** Can you come to mine? No offense it's just your dad and all your security freak me out. X

Phoebe laughed at that. Kathy came from a wealthy background, pretty much like everyone else at school, but she didn't have a houseful of security.

**Phoebe: **Yeah, sure. I'll come round about lunchtime? X

**Kathy: **Sounds good to me x

"Who ya textin'?" James asked.

"Kathy. Why do you ask?"

"Call it curiosity."

"Really? You know curiosity killed the cat right?"

"Never heard that one before," James rolled his eyes and Phoebe giggled. After a few minutes, they were home. James ran into the house, taking advantage of Nick's absence. They saw the other SUV there, meaning Christian was home. Phoebe smiled. She loved it when her father was home early; it meant they got to spend time together. However, she didn't think it was going to be a cheerful evening.

"I don't care, Theodore! You know how I feel about that!" Christian was shouting. Once he'd finished work, early, he decided to give his son another ring to find out what was really going on that required five thousand dollars. "If I find out you're lying, you're in so much trouble, young man... fine, I'll see you in a few weeks. Goodbye." He hung up, turned and saw his daughter standing in the doorway to their entrance room of the house. He smiled at her but she just looked at him. He frowned. "You alright, Phoebe?" she shook her head to snap out of her staring.

"Yeah, fine. What was that about?"

"Your brother. Something's going on with him. I think it has something to do with Sian, he seems different since he met her."

"Yeah, I noticed it too." She put her school bag on the table and walked over to him, giving him a hug. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

"So, how was school?" she sighed.

"Boring. Though I agreed to help Ava out in the music recital." She said not looking at him. She knew she would see a look of shock and concern if she looked at his face. However, he put his hand under her chin and lifted her face to look at him. She was right, shock and concern covered his expression.

"Why did you do that? Was she pressuring you again?" Phoebe shook her head.

"No. Well, sort of. I knew I would never hear the end of it until I agreed to help out with at least one song and I was tired of having the same argument every day. And I think she's sees it more as a 'thank you for giving me a lift to school this week'. I kind of offered... I think." He chuckled and then frowned.

"Phoebe, if she's pressuring you into doing it, don't let her. I could talk to Elliot if you want? Get him to talk some sense into her." Phoebe shook her head.

"No, thanks dad. I think maybe Ava's right. I need to move on and accept it in my life. I have plenty of happy memories with music and I should hold onto to it. At least that's what Flynn believes. We're still in a deep discussion about that." She giggled. He smiled and kissed her forehead before going to his office to finish off some work.

And to ring Nick's school to find out why his son had a detention. Oh yes, he knew. The head had to e-mail him to alert him Nick would be kept behind for detention though why, Christian didn't know. And he was very eager to find out.

**... ... ...**

"Nick, what was all that about?" Christian asked once he'd picked his son up from detention. He was angry, but shouting never worked with Nick as he tended to shout back. He needed to try the calm approach in order to get his middle son to talk.

"Mr Krill gave me a detention for completing all the work," Nick replied as they drove along.

"Is that all?"

"Ok, I was catching up on some English work as well. But I'd finished all the class work he'd set so I was waiting for everyone else to finish. I didn't mean to get detention, dad. I'm sorry." Christian sighed.

"He gave you a detention for doing class work? That's ridiculous. But he has a point with the doing English in the Math lesson. From now on, son, keep your English work away until the English lesson ok?" Nick nodded.

"You're not mad?"

"Yes, I'm mad. But not at you. Don't worry about it." He said as he put his foot down, eager to get home. It had been a long day and he was tired.

**... ... ...**

That night Christian cried. He missed his wife and he felt like he couldn't cope. He was a strict father but he felt his kids were still unruly, like he couldn't control them. Holding her pillow tightly, he cried letting his tear stain it.

"Oh, Ana. I miss you so much. You promised you'd never leave me. I can't do this anymore," he said. He half expected to hear her scold him for giving up but when he looked up, he was completely alone. After looking at the picture of the two of them at their wedding, he fell asleep.

**... ... ...**

A hand stroked his cheek. Opening his eyes he saw the palest, shiniest, bluest eyes he had ever seen. Soft chestnut hair falling over her shoulders and a small smile on her lips. He blinked several times, but Ana stayed where she was.

"Ana?" he whispered. She nodded.

"Hello, Christian."

"You're here? But you-"

"Shhh. I'm here." She sat down next to him and took his hand in hers.

"But, how?"

"I came to tell you not to give up. You're doing a terrific job with our children, I'm so proud of you. But I can't stand by every night listening to your self-loathing."

"But I can't do it without you anymore. Phoebe's a teenager, she needs her mother,"

"Phoebe's coping fine. She talks to me all the time and I'm there to guide her. But she has Kate and Mia and Grace to talk to as well."

"But the boys are arguing all the time and I'm struggling to control them."

"Nick and James are at the age that if one has one more fry at dinner they argue. No matter what there'll be an argument. But you need to stay strong and calm in order to deal with it. You've done so well these last ten years I don't want you to give up now." He reached a hand up to her cheek and caressed it, tucking loose strands of hair behind her ear.

"You are so beautiful," he whispered. "You left me."

"I didn't want to."

"You promised!"

"I was taken from you."

"I've missed you."

"I'm here now. Though I don't have long. Christian, never forget that I will always be with you. I'm in here," she touched his heart. "And while you can't see me all the time, I am here. I'm always here. And I will find a way to remind you of that."

"How do I go on without you?"

"The same way you did for the first ten years. Thank you for not letting your grief consume you and for thinking of the kids. I know it was hard for you." Tears started to form in her eyes but Christians had already begun to fall. "Though, you do need to stop spending every last minute of your day working. They need you."

"Work needs to be done, Ana."

"During _office hours_. Christian, I'm not arguing with you. I don't have much time." She stroked his cheek, but he leant forward and wrapped his arms around her. He hadn't held her in a long time.

"I don't want to let you go," he said causing her to giggle. "I love that sound."

"You're still so stubborn," she sat up and her face turned serious. "Christian look after the kids. Don't let them out of your sight. I fear they're in danger. Especially Phoebe," her tears started to fall and Christian grew confused.

"What? What's happened?"

"Just promise me. Please."

"Of course, but what's going on?" he asked as she started to fade. She smiled sadly.

"He's coming back. Tell Teddy I'm proud of him. I love you." She finished before disappearing completely. He screamed.

"Ana?! Wait! I love you too!"

**... ... ...**

He shot up in bed. It was just a dream. But it felt so real, holding her in his arms, stroking her cheek. Feeling her touch his cheek. But it couldn't have been real. His Ana was dead and had been for ten years. But he can't help but think about her warning. Who was coming back? And why was Phoebe especially in danger? He wasn't going to ignore his wife's warning. She had always promised to be there and if she had to visit him in his dream to warn him of danger, the he wasn't going to take it lightly. He had to protect his daughter.

He had lost his wife. He wouldn't lose his daughter too.

**... ... ...**

**Sorry I haven't updated lately, been busy. Please review and let me know how you think it's going. Thanks to those who do review:**

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	7. Chapter 7: Wednesday

**Sorry it's taken so long, been busy and couldn't think what to write. I'm sorry but Chapter 8 may take a while as I'm stuck as to how to connect the major events I've got planned. **

* * *

**Chapter 7: Wednesday**

The next day, Christian called Taylor into his office to hire more security for his family. Nick and James already had two members of security but he wanted more to make sure they were kept safe. As for Phoebe, she had three guards but Ana's warning made him want to keep her locked up in the house until he figured out what was going on. But, he couldn't as he knew she would fight back on the subject and they'd had enough arguments over it. She was even more stubborn than Ana was. She may look like him but her behaviour and personality was definitely Anastasia Grey.

"Alright, dad. I'm off," Phoebe said, kissing his cheek and grabbing her school bag.

"Already? Have you had breakfast?"

"Aunt Kate said I could grab some round theirs. I've run out of Special K here, since your pancake ban," she laughed. He didn't join in, just watched her as she ran around collecting her stuff for school. She could tell he wasn't his usual self. "What's wrong, dad? You seem a little... off, today."

"I'm fine," he shook his head and wrapping his arms around her and kissing the top of her head. "Drive safely, ok? Ryan's already waiting for you round there,"

"Ok, then. Are you sure you're ok, dad? You look like you've seen a ghost."

_If only you knew. _"Honestly, I'm fine. I'm just thinking about your mother again."

"Is that why you still wear your ring?" he looked down at his left hand where his platinum wedding band still covered his finger. "To keep her close to you?"

"Phoebe, I don't need to wear my ring to keep her close to me. She's always here. But, I do wear it so I will never forget how she was the only one for me."

"Have you ever thought about, you know... moving on?"

"You mean finding another girlfriend and eventually re-marry?" she nodded shyly. "Sometimes, I often wonder whether I should try to move on. But the truth is I don't want another woman. Your mother was it for me, and I've had you kids to worry about. And, between you and me, the only reason I would ever get with another woman would be because she looks like and reminds me of your mother."

"Really?" she raised an eyebrow. He nodded.

"But don't worry. It probably wouldn't last because I would end it because she's not your mother. Sorry, that sounds a bit cold doesn't it?"

"Kind of. But it sounds more like love for mom than anything else. Anyway, I really should get going because I'm getting hungry." She kissed his cheek again. "I'll see you tonight."

"Ok, sweetie. Oh and by the way I'm hiring extra security for a while. Just a precaution."

"Against what?"

"We'll discuss it later. Now go. And make sure you do eat breakfast. I will know."

She rolled her eyes and ran for the front door, grabbing her keys for the first time in months. He watched as she climbed into her Mini and drove away, feeling helpless. She was growing up so fast but she still seemed like a small child, the one who was once terrified to let him go with the fear he would disappear. He secretly hoped she would go to a college near Seattle but would tell her this as he knows she needs to make her own decisions on the matter.

Once Phoebe had gone, James and Nick made an appearance into the kitchen. They both looked tired, as if they'd been up all night.

"Morning, boys," Christian greeted.

"Hey dad," James said distracted. Nick didn't reply, just placed his head on the breakfast bar and closed his eyes.

"What's wrong with you two? You look like you've been up all night."

"Not quite, but close. Didn't sleep very well," James said.

"Me neither. Felt sick most of the night." Nick added.

"Both of you?" they nodded. "Do you still feel sick?" they nodded. "Have you actually been sick?" they shook their heads. "Ok. Well if you haven't actually been sick, you're going to have to go to school. If you still feel ill when you get home, I'll ring your grandmother and ask her to check you out."

"Dad!" they moaned. They didn't want to go to school feeling the way they did.

"Don't 'dad' me. You need to go to school and I need to go to a meeting. If I wasn't so busy today I would stay home with you."

"Can't we just stay home without you?" Nick asked.

"No. You know the rules. If I'm not home then you don't stay home alone."

"We're hardly alone with security here."

"You know what I mean. A member of the family will look after you if you're ill. Now go and get ready for school. If you start to feel really bad then get the school nurse to call me and I'll come and pick you up." With a grunt, both his sons disappeared to their bedrooms to get ready to go to school.

When they came back down, they looked like they were feeling better. After saying their goodbyes Christian went to work. On the way Elliot text him to let him know Phoebe arrived safe and sound and was eating a bowl of Kate's Special K.

**... ... ...**

"There, you are. I was wondering what time you were going to get here." Ava said as Phoebe pulled up in the driveway.

"Sorry, got talking to dad. Also, had to stop to get some gas for the car. You would've thought the tank would be full considering I haven't driven it." Phoebe answered.

"Oh, ok. You had breakfast yet?" Ava asked as they walked into the kitchen of Kate and Elliot's home.

"Not yet. Was hoping to grab a bowl of cereal here? We've run out of my favourite at home."

"Yeah, sure. I'm sure mom won't mind."

"Mom won't mind what?" Kate asked, filling three bowls with Cheerios and placing them in front of the triplets.

"Phoebe stealing a bowl of cereal." Ava said. At Phoebes name all three girls at the table turned their heads and grinned. They hadn't seen their cousin in weeks and ran over to her. Phoebe quickly dropped her school bag and bent down with her arms out wide to hug them.

"Hey, girls!" she grinned.

"Hi Phoebe!" Josie said.

"Hey, Bee!" Jenny squealed.

"Morning, cuz," Joanna said, kissing her cheek.

"You all, ok?" they nodded.

"Ok girls, you've said hi to Phoebe now come and eat your breakfast please." Kate instructed. Walking round their breakfast bar, Kate took her niece into her arms and gave her a comforting hug and kissed her temple. "How you doing girl?"

"I'm good, thanks Aunt Kate."

"Good. Everything go ok the other night?" Phoebe nodded. "Good. How does it look? Her grave?"

"Much nicer than when I got there. She has fresh flowers and I tidied it up a bit. It still looks brand new." Kate nodded but said nothing else, knowing it was too sensitive a subject for any time of the day.

Ava had told her Phoebe had gone to visit Ana the other night and Kate hadn't seen her niece to talk to her about it. Kate couldn't bring herself to go to Ana's grave as she found it too painful to be reminded with a piece of stone that her best friend was no longer a part of this world. She blamed herself for not being able to do anything, even though she was nowhere near Ana that terrible day.

"Morning, ladies," Elliot greeted, walking into the kitchen, trying to do up the button on the wrist of his shirt. Normally he wouldn't be wearing a suit, working in construction, but he had a meeting first thing to discuss plans for a future project for an important client. He kissed his wife before the tops of his triplet's heads and finally Ava's temple.

"Hello, Elliot," Kate said kissing him back, somewhat reluctantly.

"Morning daddy!" the triplets said at the same time.

"Hey dad," Ava greeted, slightly distracted by her cell phone.

"Morning Uncle Elliot," Phoebe spoke last. He walked over to her and gave her a quick hug.

"How're you, my favourite niece?" he winked. He only had two nieces and he didn't really prefer Phoebe over Emma or the other way around, it was just a joke they'd had going on since before Emma was born.

"I'm fine, thank, El. Just a little hungry. You don't mind if I steal a bowl of Special K do you Kate?"

"Of course not, go ahead." Kate said.

"So what's been happening in the Grey mansion?" Elliot asked. Phoebe grabbed a bowl and poured some cereal into it before adding some milk to it.

"Not a lot. Nick and James are arguing all the time. Dad's always working, I'm always doing homework. The usual really. Though dad has decided we need even more security."

"What? Why?"

"He didn't really say. Only that it's just a precaution or something. I think he has a bad feeling and is being overprotective."

"Well, I can't say I blame him really. Not after everything you went through," Kate said. She and Christian had gotten along better over the years and she was more understanding of his obsession over security. Though they still had their disagreements over the subject.

"But, I already have three guards. Is three more really going to make more of a difference other than having people notice me more?" Kate shrugged and looked at Elliot for support.

"Probably not. Just do me a favour and don't fight with him on it. He needs the security and the reassurance that you're safe." Elliot said. Phoebe just nodded and took her empty bowl to the sink to wash it out.

"And on that note, we should be going," Ava said, standing to kiss her parents goodbye.

"Ok, sweetie. See you later. You too, Bee. By the way did you let your dad know you got here safe?" Elliot asked. Phoebe shook her head, claiming she'd forgotten. He just nodded and sent his brother a quick text saying she was safe and had eaten. Elliot knew his brother liked to make sure everyone had eaten properly.

**... ... ...**

When Nick arrived at school he was 100% better than he claimed to be earlier that morning. James was still feeling under the weather. Meeting with Rebecca and Josh, Nick told them what happened with his detention and how he dad was surprisingly not angry with him.

"Well, I hate to say I told you so..." Rebecca started.

"Alright, Bex, you win. My dad isn't as angry as I thought," he replied. His girlfriend just grinned at him and kissed his cheek.

"Are you still on for tutoring this weekend?" Josh asked.

"Oh! I completely forgot. As far as I can remember we don't have any family plans so, yeah why not. You all coming to mine?" they nodded. "Then, yeah. I'll let dad know. No doubt he and Phoebe will be doing something this weekend."

"Why do you say it like that?" Rebecca asked.

"Like what?" Nick asked defensively.

"Like your sister is the worst person in the world." Josh said. Nick looked confused at his two best friends.

"You don't even realise you're doing it do you?" Rebecca asked softly. Nick shook his head. "You sometime act as if you hate her or you're jealous of her."

"I do?"

"Yes. You do. What's wrong Nick? Is it because she is so close to your dad?" Nick thought for a minute.

"I guess sometimes, I am jealous that she and dad are so close and he doesn't pay me and James much attention. But other times, I look at her and all I can see is my mom." After a minute he shook his head. "Ignore me. I'm being stupid."

"Have you spoken to your dad about how you feel left out?" Rebecca refused to let the matter drop.

"He doesn't have the time to listen. He's always working or with Phoebe."

"Maybe you should try. Keep nagging him until he listens. I'm sure he feels the same way as you do."

"What? That I dislike my sister because of the attention she gets?" Nick said sarcastically.

"No. I think Rebecca meant that he doesn't spend enough time with you. And sometimes feels that you don't want to spend time with him." Josh finished for Rebecca. He best friends have given him a lot to think about. Can he really blame Phoebe because he and Christian aren't that close? Does he need to make more of an effort? Nick was left feeling very confused over everything. Josh checked his watch and lightly slapped Nick on the shoulder. "Come on mate, we best get going or we'll be late." Nick nodded and silently followed wrapping his arm around his girlfriend, who kissed his cheek.

"Promise me something?" she whispered as they sat down for registration.

"What?"

"Talk to your dad tonight. Tell him how you feel and that you want to spend more time with him. I'm sure he'd never forgive himself if he didn't know your feelings." Nick just sighed and put his head on the desk before nodding. Rebecca smiled.

**... ... ...**

"Dad, you need help! I can't keep doing this." Sian snapped when she and Teddy went to visit her father.

"Sian, I'm fine, I don't need help."

"Dad, you're high. You promised me you were going to stop and get yourself some help. Look at the state of yourself!" she shouted. Teddy wrapped his arms around her and whispered to her to calm down.

"You can talk Sian! Or haven't you told Ted about you coming round with Carl last Saturday?" he shouted back. Sian froze. Teddy didn't know about that and she didn't want him to. He thought she'd been going to get help on Saturdays so was shocked to hear she went to see her father to get high with her ex.

"Sian?" Ted whispered. "Is it true?"

"Ted, it was one time and I haven't seen Carl since we gave him the money, I swear."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I was afraid. I didn't want you to think ill of me and it was only once since we met. I promise I won't do it again."

Ted was speechless. He knew that Sian was trying to get help but how was he supposed to deal with her getting high behind his back? He was risking enough by not telling Christian about Sian's past but are they forever going to have an unreliable relationship.

Leaving the house, Teddy left his girlfriend shouting and crying to her father for possibly ruining their relationship. He didn't what to think. He wasn't finished with their relationship; he just needed some space to think. He loved Sian but could he trust her to not go and get high whenever they have a fallout or if she has a bad day? He wasn't sure. But he knew that if she didn't turn to drugs now he found out about her lie then they may stand a chance.

Walking towards Jenson, his personal security, he thought of what he could say to make him not tell Christian what's going on.

"Hey, Jenson. Have you spoken to my father lately?" he asked.

"No, sir, but he told me to get you to ring him at some point to let him know you're ok. And I think you should tell him about Sian's problem."

"No," Ted said straight away. "Not until I have more control over this situation my father is to have no knowledge of what's going on. I don't want to give any more to worry about."

"But I can't lie to him."

"You won't. You just won't say anything. If he doesn't ask don't say anything. Simple."

"And if he does ask?"

"Then I'll think of something."

Jenson said nothing and got into the waiting car. Ted climbed in the back and soon Sian was running out of the house calling for him. He allowed her to climb into the car next to him.

"Ted, where does this leave us?" she asked, tears streaming down her face. He looked down.

"I don't know. But I need some space right now, Sian. I still love you but I need to be alone to get my head around this. Do you want me to take you home?"

"I'm so sorry, Ted. I will do anything for you to forgive me and trust me again. I promise to get some professional help. Just please don't give up on me."

"Sian, I will never give up on you, but right now I think you need a break from me and decide if I really am what you want because I can't live like this and I know for a fact that keeping this from my father isn't possible and he will be beyond furious and never trust me again." Her tears were falling harder and he felt bad for it but she needed to know how he felt or they definitely wouldn't stand a chance. He reached up to wipe some tears and stroke her cheek. "We both need some space to think without being distracted by each other. Shall I take you home?" she nodded and he gently kissed her forehead. Once they were buckled up, Jenson drove towards Sian's apartment.

**... ... ...**

"Grey." Christian snapped into the phone.

"Mr Grey, this is Mrs Wood from Seattle Middle School." The lady said on the other end. Christian grunted and leant back in his chair wondering what Nick or James had done.

"What have my sons done today?"

"Nothing sir. I was calling to ask you to collect James. I'm afraid he is not well and has been sick in the toilets." Mrs Wood said. Christian closed his eyes and sighed. After a quick glance at his schedule he realised he had meeting all afternoon and wasn't able to get away.

"Ok, I have security nearby the school; they will pick him up and take him home. They will give the name either Jennings or Richards, depending on which one turns up."

"We don't normally allow that Mr Grey. To be certain the children get home safely we request a parent or another named relative in our paperwork collect them."

"Well, I'm sorry but I have meetings all day today that I cannot get out of and will take time to rearrange. And the rest of my family are busy in their jobs as well. My security will pick my son up and take him home where my housekeeper will be looking after him."

"Very well, Mr Grey. For future reference may we add your security team to your sons file as approved adults?"

"Yes, that would be acceptable and I will alert you if that will change for any reason." He hung up and dialled Jennings number.

"Mr Grey?" he answered on the second ring.

"Jennings, I need either you or Richards to go into the school and take James home as he is ill. I will be home as soon as I can but he needs to be picked up now."

Andrea's voice came through on his intercom. "Mr Grey, your next appointment is here."

"Thanks Andrea. Tell them to wait I'll be a few minutes."

"Yes sir." She said.

"Does the school know it will be me picking James up?" Jennings asked still on the phone.

"Yes so you shouldn't have any trouble." He hung up with Jennings and rang Mrs Taylor on the house phone. He knew her phone could be anywhere while she was working so it was easier.

"Grey residence," she answered.

"Gail? It's me."

"Hello Mr Grey. Is everything alright?"

"With me, yes. However, James is not well and has been sent home from school and I have back-to-back meeting this afternoon. Would you mind making sure he goes to bed, making sure he stays hydrated and generally look after him until I can get home?" Before he met Ana, Christian would just tell his housekeeper what to do instead of asking. But then, before he met Ana he didn't have kids to order his housekeeper to look after when they were ill.

"Of course I can look after him. It's no trouble. Will you be home late?"

"I'll have Andrea arrange to change any meeting that can wait but I will need to stay in the office to attend the important meetings that can't be rescheduled. I want to get home to my son as soon as I can."

"Ok, Mr Grey. I'll make sure he knows that you're hurrying back."

"Thanks, Gail. Ana was right you really deserve a raise." He hung up as Andrea called through to alert him his next meeting was wondering how long he was going to be. Standing up from his desk he went through to the conference room when the meeting would take place. He stopped at Andrea's desk on the way.

"Andrea, my son is ill and I have back-to-back meetings today. I need you to reschedule any meetings and appointments that can wait until another day and bring forward anything important. I want to be able to get home as soon as possible."

"Of course Mr Grey," she nodded as he walked off to sit in a room with some of the most boring but important people who could help improve his business.

**... ... ...**

James was exhausted when he got home. He didn't know why, he'd done nothing all day. Gail was waiting for him when he arrived home and led him straight into the kitchen and handed him a glass of cold water.

"Drink this, James." She ordered. He did and placed his head on top of the breakfast bar. "Come on. You need to go to bed. Your dad said he has a couple of meetings that he can't get out of but he said he'll be home as soon as possible." James just nodded and headed up to his bedroom.

He went to the bathroom and threw up once more before dragging himself to his bed. Once he was under the covers and his head hit the pillow he fell asleep.

Hours later he was woken to someone dabbing a cold cloth to his forehead. Opening his eyes he saw his father, still in his work suit, hair messy because he'd been running his hands through it. When he saw James was awake, Christian smiled.

"Hey, son. How do you feel?" he asked. James sat up and groaned.

"Terrible," James said before jumping out of bed to run to the bathroom. Christian followed and rubbed his back but he, thankfully, wasn't throwing up. He hated seeing his kid's ill; he felt so out of control. Once James was sure he wouldn't vomit, Christian led him back to bed.

"You're not to leave your bed. If you need to throw up use this bucket," Christian said holding a plastic bucket up. "Mrs Taylor said you've been asleep all morning."

"Yeah, I feel so tired," James replied. "You look tired."

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I've just spent the morning worrying about you. I decided to reschedule all of my meetings this afternoon since I was so worried." James was shocked. He never thought his father would cancel a day of meetings to look after him while he was ill. For Phoebe, maybe but not him or his brothers. He needed to stop paying attention to Nick's insecurities.

"What's the time?" Christian checked his watch.

"Just gone two o'clock. Why?"

"Just wondering how long I'd been asleep."

"Ok. Well all morning. Do you think you can eat anything?" James shook his head. "I think you should try and eat something. Mrs Taylor has made you some soup." Christian got off the bed and went downstairs to get the soup. Mrs Taylor was in the kitchen.

"How's James?" she asked, noticing her employer enter the kitchen.

"He still feels a bit ill. His temperature is high and he's in bed. Can we heat that soup up for him?"

"Of course. You go back up; I'll bring it up when it's ready."

"Gail, you really are a life saver." Christian grinned before going back upstairs to his son. "Mrs Taylor will bring the soup up in a minute." James just nodded and closed his eyes. Ten minutes later, she knocked on the door and handed the bowl to Christian, who was getting James small table to sit on the bed over his lap. James quietly ate the soup, aware of the worried stare he was getting from his father. He was happy to see he'd managed to eat the whole bowl of soup, Christian even more so.

"I'm going to do some work in my office, ok? If you need anything let me know," he told his son, who nodded and slipped under the covers once more to go to sleep. Christian's heart was breaking at the sight of his son. There was nothing he could do to help him.

**... ... ...**

Ava was driving her nuts. All she was doing was asking questions about everything she could think of and Phoebe was glad to finally have a moment's peace when she managed to get out of her English class to use the bathroom. It wasn't long but it was enough for her to realise how she shouldn't take any silence for granted anymore. She knew Ava was annoying and bad with asking questions but she was worse today and Phoebe was beginning to wonder if all the headache medication in the world would help with the headache forming. She doubted it.

Art was her next class and luckily, Ava wouldn't be there. She wasn't very good at art so she done history instead. However, while she may get rid of one annoying person, she would still be stuck with Eric. He was getting more and more annoying and asking more personal questions she really didn't want to answer and was running out of polite ways to say 'mind your own business'.

Not long after she arrived back to English the lesson was over so she and Ava went to their lockers, Ava still asking questions.

"So, why won't you tell me what you and your dad talked about this morning?"

"I told you. I'm not completely sure what we were talking about this morning. Something about security but I don't know why he's hiring more. He doesn't tell us things like that so stop being annoying!" Phoebe snapped.

"Alright," Ava said putting her hands up in defence. "I was just asking."

"Well stop. Because I don't know the answers to all these questions."

"Ok. I'm sorry." Ava checked her timetable. "I've got history, you got art?"

"Yeah. An hour stuck with Eric. Such fun," Phoebe rolled her eyes. Ava laughed and saw Eric walking towards them.

"Hello, girls. How are you?" he asked when he reached them.

"Fine thanks," Ava said before turning to Phoebe. "I gotta go. Meet you in the car park tea bag?"

"Yeah." Phoebe answered and walked towards the art room, Eric following her.

"Why did she call you tea bag?" he asked. Phoebe shrugged.

"I don't know. Probably to annoy me," she answered. The truth was Ava had been calling Phoebe tea bag since they discovered PG tips tea when they were younger, because Phoebe's initials matched it. It was an old family joke that never really died down. They arrived at the art class and quickly took their seats.

"Surely it must be more than to annoy you?" Eric insisted. "A nickname like that must have a reason behind it. It's not your initials so what is it?"

"What makes you think it's not my initial?" Phoebe asked suspiciously.

"I thought your last name was Steele?" he was confused. Phoebe then remembered. She had never told him her last name was Grey and her facebook name was set as Phoebe Steele to try and hide it from Christian and no one calls her Grey.

"It is. The truth is I just love tea so my friends have nicknamed me tea bag." She answered getting on with her work but he wouldn't take the hint.

"That's a strange reason for you to be called tea bag."

"Look Eric, shut up and leave me alone. I'm trying to work and all you do is ask questions and don't mind your own business. It's so fucking frustrating!" she finally snapped. He looked shocked but said nothing else. Turning away he got on with his own work. Phoebe was too mad to care or feel guilty for her outburst and when the lesson was over she stormed out of the classroom. Since it was the end of the day she headed straight for the car park but found Ava wasn't there yet. Leaning against it she closed her eyes but was interrupted again.

"Phoebe?" Eric was standing in front of her. "I'm sorry for being annoying earlier. I guess I just like to try and make sense of everything around me." She sighed and stood up straight.

"Don't worry about it. I shouldn't have snapped. It's just Ava's been driving me nuts all day." She replied. He smiled a shy smile.

"Do you... erm... do you want to hang out this weekend? I'm busy Saturday night but I'm free the rest of the time."

"I can't this weekend. I promised Kathy I'd go to her house to rehearse for the music recital since she's at a funeral the day it's happening."

"Oh, ok never mind. It was just a thought."

"What are you doing Saturday night?" she asked curiously, wondering if it was plans he could change.

"Going out to dinner with my parents and the Grey family round their house. Dad's boss wants to discuss something about the deal they're working on so he invited us all over." He sounded irritated at the thought. Phoebe smiled to herself knowing her father was Eric's fathers boss, though she frowned when she realised he would be at their house for dinner Saturday night.

"Sounds like you'll have so much fun." She smiled. As she said that, Ava turned up and apologised for taking so long. After saying goodbye to Eric they headed back towards Ava's house.

"What were you two talking about?"

"And so the interrogation begins," Phoebe said rolling her eyes.

"What?"

"Nothing. Anyway it turns out that he's having dinner round mine on Saturday and he doesn't even know he's coming round mine."

"How does that work?"

"He still hasn't figured out I'm a Grey." Phoebe smiled and Ava burst out laughing.

"Oh, that'll be a nice surprise for him." The giggled but said nothing else as they drove along. Not long later, they were driving up Ava's driveway. Kate and Elliot's cars were parked outside the house. Ava froze. If both her parents were home something was very wrong or very right. It was most likely the former.

Climbing out, Ava asked if Phoebe was going to stay for a while. She agreed and they walked into the kitchen through the garage door. They could hear Kate and Elliot arguing somewhere in the house. Ava sighed and grabbed a drink out of the fridge, passing a bottle of flavoured water to Phoebe.

"Typical," she muttered.

"What are they arguing about?" Phoebe asked shocked. She'd never known her aunt and uncle to argue and Ava was acting like it was a normal thing for them.

"Anything and everything they can think of. It's been going on for years. A lot of the time, it's about your dad. Mom doesn't think he's coping with all of you, dad disagrees." They sat in silence listening to Kate and Elliot's shouting get louder as they neared the kitchen. Phoebe realised they were talking about Ana as well.

"You want to take my children to the park? The same fucking park my best friend was murdered in?" Kate screamed outside the door.

"Of course not that park!" Elliot shouted back. "But I think they need to go out eventually. They've spent their whole lives going to school and going between my parents, your parents, Christians, Mia's and Ethan's. You can't keep them locked up in the house forever, Kate, they need to go out and socialise."

"I don't give a shit what you think! They are staying here where I can keep an eye on them!" Kate screamed even louder than before, if that was even possible. Elliot made a frustrated grunt and the girls heard footsteps storming away. "Don't walk away from me Elliot Grey!" Kate sounded like she was following him. Ava turned back to Phoebe.

"That is what it's been like for nearly ten years. Luckily the girls never hear it because nine times out of ten, they send me to pick them up from school." She explained.

"You know what if you're so worried, why not be like Christian and employ fucking security?!" Elliot shouted, sounding like they were near the kitchen again.

"I am nothing like your brother. I look after my daughters, which is more than he can say. After what happened how could he let Phoebe just go off on her own? For all he knows there could be someone waiting to finish the job. Ana would be so disappointed." Kate explained walking into the kitchen, noticing the two girls sitting at their breakfast bar. He mouth dropped open and Elliot walked in behind her.

"Girls," he said shocked. "How long have you been sitting there?" he asked cautiously.

"About half an hour. We heard a lot of what you had to say." Ava said. "I take it you've been arguing a lot today that you didn't even realise the time?" she asked sarcastically. Phoebe looked down at her lap while Kate found the voice she had lost after so much shouting.

"Phoebe. I'm sorry if you heard what I said-"

"Don't worry about it," Phoebe quickly said, standing up. "I've got to get home any way so I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked turning to Ava who just nodded. Not giving Kate a chance to say anything, Phoebe quickly left the kitchen and climbed into her car and drove away. She didn't want to go home just yet so she went to the only place she could think easier.

Once Phoebe's car was out of sight, Ava turned towards her parents. "Well done you two!" she snapped.

"Excuse me?" Kate said.

"You heard. God, you just don't know when to stop do you? All you ever do is argue about Uncle Christian and the way he's bringing up Phoebe and the others. Or argue about aunt Ana but you can't see what you're doing."

"Don't you speak to me like that!" Kate snapped.

"No! I will speak to you like this because you need to hear it!" Ava shouted. "Uncle Christian has done a better job on his own than you two have together because he's not arguing with everyone all the time. It's not his fault what happened and you, mom, are certainly not making life any easier."

"Ava," Elliot said in a warning tone.

"No! I'm sick of it. Aunt Ana is dead mom, so get over it and start being a fucking parent and stop giving dad a hard time about Uncle Christian. Phoebe's been through enough as it is without having to hear your criticisms about her upbringing!" Ava shouted before stomping up the stairs. Kate was shocked at her daughter's outburst and Elliot didn't know what to think. Finally realising what the time was, Elliot spoke up.

"We should really go pick the girls up," he said knowing they were still in school and had finished half hour ago. Kate just nodded and let him go, trying to figure out how to fix things with her husband, daughter and niece.

She realised in that moment that Christian _had _done a better job at parenting than she had.

**... ... ...**

After driving for some time, Phoebe finally arrived at her destination and parked her car. Though she sat in there for a while before finally getting out. Both cars were there so she was thankful that she would be able to talk before having to go home. Walking up the front steps she knocked on the front door that was opened a few minutes later.

"Phoebe?"

**... ... ...**

**Where do you think Phoebe's gone? Who has she gone to visit? Let me know what you think and thanks for reviewing:**

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**One more thing: Who do you think the murderer should be? I've given a brief description but do you think it should be someone related to the Greys (e.g Jack Hyde) or do you think it should be someone just from Ana's past or just a random person who was jealous of the happiness they Grey's had? Please review or PM me to let me know who/what you think I should do.**


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